{"id":1176,"date":"2024-12-22T15:18:33","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T15:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=1176"},"modified":"2024-12-22T15:18:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T15:18:33","slug":"ncis-nearly-got-canceled-over-casting-david-mccallum-as-ducky-the-shocking-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=1176","title":{"rendered":"NCIS Nearly Got Canceled Over Casting David McCallum as Ducky\u2014The Shocking Story!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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David McCallum captured the hearts of\u00a0NCIS<\/em> fans as Dr. Donald \u201cDucky\u201d Mallard, but his journey to joining the show was almost derailed before it began.<\/p>\n

The Scottish actor, who played the beloved chief medical examiner from the series\u2019 backdoor pilot until his passing in 2023, initially faced resistance from studio executives. According to former\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0director James Whitmore Jr., producer Don Bellisario had to fight to keep David on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they cast David McCallum as Ducky, the studio said, \u2018No way, we\u2019re not casting this old character actor in the role,\u2019\u201d Whitmore revealed in an interview with\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. Bellisario, however, stood firm. \u201cDon said, \u2018If you don\u2019t, we\u2019re not doing the show.\u2019 He was that serious about it. The studio went with it, and of course, David McCallum is gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Peter Golden, CBS\u2019s former head of casting, speculated that the studio\u2019s hesitation stemmed from David\u2019s British heritage. \u201cI think it was because David McCallum was British. The feeling was, \u2018Can you do that?\u2019 This was such an American show,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

David himself once reflected on the process of landing the role. After being invited to meet casting director Bonnie Timmermann and audition for the pilot, he eventually met with Don Bellisario. \u201cAfterwards, Don came out, put his arm around me, and said, \u2018David,\u2019\u201d he recalled during an appearance at The Television Academy Foundation. \u201cThat\u2019s when I realized I might have the charm they were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moment he learned he\u2019d secured the role is one David never forgot. While fixing a flat tire in Los Angeles, he received the call with the good news. Laughing, he later remarked, \u201cI said, well then, I\u2019m gonna go get a car that works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following David\u2019s death in 2023,\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0paid tribute to both the actor and his iconic character in an episode titled\u00a0The Stories We Leave Behind<\/strong>, which explored one of Ducky\u2019s unresolved cases. Executive producers Steven D. Binder and David North also released a heartfelt statement, praising David\u2019s legacy:<\/p>\n

\u201cFor over 20 years, David McCallum endeared himself to audiences around the world playing the wise, quirky, and sometimes enigmatic Dr. Donald \u2018Ducky\u2019 Mallard. But as much as his fans loved him, those who worked side by side with David loved him even more. He was a scholar and a gentleman, always gracious, a consummate professional, and never one to pass up a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n

David McCallum\u2019s legacy as Ducky remains an integral part of\u00a0NCIS<\/em> history\u2014a testament to his charm, talent, and the unwavering belief of Don Bellisario in his casting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David McCallum captured the hearts of\u00a0NCIS fans as Dr. Donald \u201cDucky\u201d Mallard, but his journey to joining the show was almost derailed before it began. The Scottish… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1176"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1178,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1176\/revisions\/1178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}