TV icon, 72, looks radically different 21 years after joining famous crime drama series-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

A former NCIS star rarely seen in public since leaving the series in 2021 looks unrecognisable (Picture: Garrett Press/ Mega)

NCIS star Mark Harmon looks almost unrecognisable two decades after he first joined the crime drama series.

First hitting screens in 2003, the military police TV series revolves around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

A spin-off from the series JAG, the long-running show has released 21 seasons to date and has produced six spin-off series’.  

Up until 2021, Mark starred as NCIS agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs before leaving in the nineteenth season.

Three years on, the actor is now busy working on another project, but looks quite different to how we previously saw him on screen.

This week he was seen out and about in Los Angeles amid a major heatwave, wearing a red button-down shirt and dark-coloured shorts which he paired with flip flops as he headed to grab groceries.

Mark Harmon played Agent Gibbs on the crime drama for 18 years (Picture: Garrett Press/ Mega)

The 72-year-old largely lives his life out of the public eye with his wife of 37 years, Mork & Mindy actress Pam Dawber.

Since leaving NCIS, Mark hasn’t been in any films or TV shows however is set to reprise his role in Freakier Friday, which will see the cast of the beloved 2003 film reunite.

In the movie, Mark played Ryan, the lovable partner of Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and stepfather of Anna (Lindsay Lohan).

When leaving NCIS, Mark expressed his appreciation for playing Agent Gibbs and the significance it had on his career.

‘What has always drawn me here is the character I play and to keep it fresh and to keep it challenging,’ he said.

He hasn’t been in any movies or TV shows since then (Picture: Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty Images)

‘Plot-wise, this character has taken the path that it did. I thought it was honest and OK.’

He initially secured the role after playing a Secret Service special agent in four episodes of The West Wing in 2002.

Although he spent a year on the credits for NCIS after his exit, since Gibbs wasn’t killed off, Mark’s name was eventually removed.

However executive producer Steven D. Binder didn’t rule out a return for the former lead, sharing: ‘Those are things that we have not sorted out quite yet, so the answer is we will wait and see.’

For fans of his character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs is set to return in the prequel series NCIS: Origins, which stars The Hating Game’s Austin Stowell, with Mark serving as an executive producer. He will also narrate the series.

He has been married to actress Pam Dawber since 1987 (Picture: David Livingston/Getty Images)

The series will be set around 12 years before NCIS, and will follow the younger Gibbs as a fresh-faced special agent at the NCIS Camp Pendleton office.

‘I’m fine with the stepback role and [to] let the [new] cast do the work. I’m pleased to be part of it. I’m a distant part. I’m just here to support,’ he previously said.

But when asked about returning to the original series, he was uncertain.

‘I don’t know. It’s really about feeling you’ve fulfilled a role. I’ve always let the writers do what they want to do.’

NCIS is streaming on Disney Plus. NCIS: Origins will be released this autumn.

This story was first published on June 25.

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