Before NCIS ever made headlines for behind-the-scenes drama, Mark Harmon was already setting the tone for what real leadership looked like. Despite playing the unshakable Leroy Jethro Gibbs – the heart and soul of the show – Harmon never viewed himself as the dominant force everyone assumed he was.
In an old interview with the Seattle Times, Harmon humbly admitted,
“I’m not the big dog. … I might be a dog. But there’s a lot of dogs.”
That modesty became part of the show’s secret sauce. Even as NCIS soared to the top of TV ratings, Harmon always gave credit to the entire cast and crew, not himself. “We’ve been successful so far and we keep finding ways to grow it,” he said, reflecting on the show’s unlikely rise to fame.
He even joked about the early days, saying,
“We were able to keep it afloat a couple of years because we weren’t good enough to get all the attention and we weren’t bad enough to get canceled. … And the biggest thing: We shoot in Santa Clarita. Nobody from the network wanted to drive out there!”
Through years of cast changes and challenges – including Pauley Perrette’s controversial exit – Harmon’s calm, grounded leadership helped NCIS stay strong. He never needed to be the “big dog” to keep the pack together.
Mark Harmon’s Bold Call That Led to a Lifetime with Pam Dawber
Harmon’s humility extends beyond Hollywood – it’s part of his love story too. When he first met actress Pam Dawber, he skipped the Hollywood games and simply called her out of the blue.
As he told PEOPLE,
“I got her number, called, and started to leave a message saying, ‘We don’t have to all go out – we could just get a cup of coffee or something.’ Then she picked up. We went out that night, and we’ve been together ever since.”
A year later, on March 21, 1987, the two married and built a quiet, enduring life together. Decades later, Dawber joined Harmon onscreen in 2021 for a special guest role on NCIS – a full-circle moment for one of TV’s most grounded stars.
Harmon’s humility, both on set and off, remains the quiet force behind his lasting success – and the reason fans still see him as the real heart of NCIS.
