5 Mark Harmon Movies That Expose a Different Side of the ‘NCIS’ Actor
Mark Harmon has spent years playing Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS. He is the man in charge who leads with an iron fist, yet deep compassion for those around him. He is an internally conflicted guy who has suffered a great deal of trauma, yet he will endlessly put himself second to serve and protect the innocent.
After 17 years in such a role, he has become intimately connected to his character’s illustration. However, though he hasn’t stepped outside of NCIS much, the actor is capable of carrying roles that do not require a badge. If you’re looking to see Mark Harmon in a different light, give one of the below movies a shot. He’s seen his fair share of romantic comedies.
1. ‘Summer School’
The 1987 teen comedy Summer School stars Mark Harmon as the apathetic and detached gym teacher, Freddy Shoop. Shoop is a bare minimum-type guy planning to take the summer off in Hawaii. Unfortunately, all his vacation plans go up in flames when he’s forced to teach summer school to avoid losing his tenure. With a little help from a talented and compassionate history teacher (Kirstie Alley), Harmon leans how to “fake” concern — how to appear to be a supportive mentor — yet he grows as a person along the way.
2. ‘Prince of Bel-Air’
Though not the Will Smith-led hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Mark Harmon’s Prince of Bel-Air is also a comedy. Mark Harmon plays a womanizing pool cleaner who comes to evaluate his way of life when he becomes infatuated with a client. Once again, Harmon stars alongside Kirstie Alley in this movie.
3. ‘The Deliberate Stranger’
While Mark Harmon has spent many years playing the guy who catches the killer, he also played infamous serial killer Ted Bundy in the TV movie The Deliberate Stranger. The film debuted in 1986 and Mark Harmon — who would go on to win People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive the same year — was perfect for playing the manipulative charmer who no one thought could do such a thing. Ted Bundy was one of Harmons’ earlier roles, yet it remains one of his most-remembered, for it was not an easy out-the-gate gig.
4. ‘Worth Winning’
Worth Winning is another romantic comedy starring Mark Harmon. The movie premiered in 1989 and also featured Leslie Ann Warren, Madeleine Stowe, and Maria Holvoe. Harmon plays a confident TV weatherman who’s so self-assured he thinks he can get any girl he wants.
The weatherman makes a bet with his buddies that he can get three different women to marry him in the same month. Though he wins the bet, the women plot their revenge when they find out they’re all engaged to the same guy. If one trend is emerging, it’s that Mark Harmon played a few womanizers back in the day.
5. ‘Weather Girl’
Weather Girl follows Sylvia (Tricia O’Kelly) — a weather forecaster who learns that her lover (Mark Harmon) is cheating on her. Mark Harmon plays the guy who gets exposed on live TV, doesn’t handle it too well, but sort of laughs it off. Definitely not the “good guy” with a strong moral compass that we’re used to seeing Harmon play in NCIS and films like The Presidio.
