During Motor City Comic Con’s From The Courtroom To A Magical Enchantress panel, moderated by Joe Deckelmeier for ScreenRant, Bell explained what it was like to be recast in JAG following her initial guest appearance. The actor spoke about how, despite playing a small role before the series’ initial cancellation at NBC, she was approached by the network to join full-time.
This was because of the form of actor they were looking for to star opposite series star David James Elliott following Tracey Needham’s exit from the series. She recalled getting the role after nearly giving up on her career, reminiscing about her husband’s support and the way she ended up getting the role:
ScreenRant: So you didn’t start off as Mac, you played another character. How did it come about, that shift in characters?
Catherine Bell: So, it was interesting because I had a couple of scenes [in season 1]. I was in one scene where, really, the only thing was the flashback of me, and Harm happened to be in love with this girl. She was coming, I guess, to see him, or he went to see her as the ship comes in, and instead, I’m dead. I’m in a body bag. I remember when I auditioned for that part, Don Bellisario, at the callback, he said, “I know this seems like you’re dead. She’s a very important character. Harm was in love with her, and she’s pivotal.” So, I was like, “Great, I’m happy to be on the show!” One of the days we were filming, Don Bellisario, who directed that episode, announced to the crew that the show was being canceled. So it was like, “Hey, I have a big announcement. NBC is canceling the show.” Everyone was so disappointed, but he said, “Don’t worry, we think that one of the other networks is going to pick it up.” So I was just on set, a guest star, it had really nothing to do with me, I thought. And then that summer, my agents saw that they were recasting that week, and they wanted someone who was at least 5’9″, because David [James Elliott] is 6’4″. And they wanted someone with dark hair, very specific, because the previous girl was blonde. I think they wanted a brunette, and someone strong and someone equal to Harm, because Tracey Needham was younger and kind of a soft, whispery blonde type. So, they wanted someone who could stand up to him with equal range, go head to head, which was really what I think made these characters work. And they wanted someone who could speak other languages. I speak Farsi, I do martial arts. I’m like, “This is me, sure.” I actually wrote Don Bellisario a letter, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if Harm’s new partner looked just like the love of his life?” I went in for the audition. I went in for a callback, I went in for another callback. I had six callbacks. It went from like callback with producers to the network, and the final callback was with David in front of the head of CBS, the head of Paramount, Don, all these people in the theater at CBS. [Chuckles] It was a pretty magical moment. Don actually told me this years later that Les Moonves, at the end of my audition, I walked out of the room and Les leaned over to Don and said, “Let’s make her a star.”
ScreenRant: Is that how you find out you got the role?
Catherine Bell: No, I got a call. The night before I found out I got that role, I was crying at my dining table, looking at the stack of bills with my husband. I was like, “I can’t do this anymore. Borrowing money from my mom to pay the rent, you know, struggling actor life.” And he’s like, “No, you’re so close. We almost got this.” He was so supportive. And literally, the next morning, I got the call, Don called me, and he said, “I got your note, I’m really glad you wrote that note, because it reminded me of you. Nobody writes notes anymore.” It was a handwritten letter, I dropped it in the mail. He said, “I don’t know about making her look like the other girl, but we’ll see about that.” And he ended up taking my suggestion, and of course, you guys have seen it, he has that flashback scene.
Bell starred on the series beginning with season 2, with Mac becoming a close friend of Elliott’s Harmon Rabb over the course of the show. She went on to appear in the series until its finale during season 10. While she hasn’t returned to the NCIS franchise that much, she has made two appearances in NCIS: Los Angeles, one of which was alongside Elliott.
Bell’s story emphasizes how she almost didn’t end up becoming much more than an extra on the show, especially after its fate was originally in jeopardy. However, CBS swooping in and saving the series, coupled with her becoming a regular cast member, made the show the foundation for every season of NCIS that came after it wrapped up.
It also catapulted Bell’s career upward, as she snagged her first long-term TV role in the process. She’s gone on to have a multitude of recurring roles in various TV shows, while also starring in many TV movies as well. Her other long-term TV role was in the Lifetime drama Army Wives, which ran until season 7.
