Rocky Carroll is the third-longest-running actor currently still on NCIS, following behind Sean Murray and Brian Dietzen. Introduced in the middle of NCIS Season 5 and taking over as the agency’s director at the end of the season, his character, Leon Vance, has remained the popular CBS show’s main authority figure for the entirety of that time. So with NCIS Season 22, which is airing now on the 2025 TV schedule, marking Carroll’s 18th season on the show, Carroll discussed with CinemaBlend what makes him feel “excited” about still contributing to the series.
During an interview went over his directorial work on “Baker’s Men,” how Vance feels about Deputy Director LaRoche and how the door’s been left open for Vance’s girlfriend to return someday, I also wanted to learn from Rocky Carroll what keeps him around on NCIS. He started off by telling me:
It’s such an anomaly, especially in my industry, to work on one show, for me almost two decades now. And a lot of these guys, especially on the crew, they started together on JAG, so they’ve got more than two decades together. For me, and I just found this out because I wasn’t sure when people say, ‘Hey, what season did you start directing?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know, sometimes they all kind of run together.’ But since season 12, now that I’ve been working on both sides of the camera, I have very unique relationships not only with the cast, but also with the crew.
Yes, in case any of you had forgotten, NCIS spun out of JAG, which ran from 1995 to 2005 and, like the entire NCIS franchise, can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. So it’s remarkable that there are crew members who’ve far surpassed working in this procedural world than Rocky Carroll, but that’s not to undersell what he’s accomplished on this show. In addition to his long tenure as Leon Vance, “Baker’s Man” marked his 25th time directing on NCIS, which has allowed him to become well-acquainted with the behind-the-scenes talent. He continued:
When you’re an actor on a series, there’s so many people behind the scenes, post-production, effects, wardrobe, all the people… you know them because you see them, but you don’t really see what they do day in and day out. I have the very rare pleasure of being able to not only work with the guys in front of the camera, but also the guys behind the camera.
Rocky Carroll began directing on NCIS with the Season 12 episode “We Build, We Fight,” and that’s allowed him to diversify his work, contributing both on and off camera. He capped off this portion of our conversation by sharing he has another episode coming up in Season 22 where he’ll be back at the helm:
So I know the guys in the art department. I know the guys in postproduction. I know the guys in editing personally, because I get to work with them all. So I think that for me is the biggest joy about still doing this… When I go back to Santa Clarita on Monday, I’m going back as a director, and I won’t be working in front of the camera. I’ll be spending six hours of that day going to department meetings and putting together the next episode. So that’s the thing that keeps me going and makes me feel excited about doing this job.
Rocky Carroll has been able to do a lot with Leon Vance over the years, from forging a strong bond with Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs through tragedy, to establishing a different kind of dynamic with Gary Cole’s Alden Parker after reaching a mentally healthier place in his life. But the acting is only part of the equation for Carroll on NCIS, as he’s also enjoyed directing and collaborating with people off camera. It’s good to see this combination has given him such fulfillment and the willingness to continue lending his talents to one of the most popular broadcast TV programs.
New episodes of NCIS air Mondays at 9 pm ET on CBS. We should learn in the coming months if Season 23 is happening or not, but if it does, chances are strong we can expect Rocky Carroll to keep his impressive streak going.
