‘NCIS’ Star Once Explained Why the Cast Didn’t Do Any Movies
Fans didn’t see NCIS stars like Mark Harmon on too many projects besides his hit show. Even Harmon, who’d done a few movies in the past, did far fewer films while on NCIS. This actor explained why this was the case.
Pauley Perrette shares why ‘NCIS’ stars didn’t do more movies
A few NCIS stars already know what it’s like to do feature films. However, the long-running procedural might be the project they’re all mostly known for. Whereas it wasn’t uncommon for actors on TV to make movies, the NCIS crew mainly devoted time to the show. Pauley Perrette confided that there was more than one reason for this decision.
“When you’re on a sitcom, you work four days a week. You do a couple table reads, you do it in front of an audience, and then you go home. But for Mark, Michael, Sean [Murray, who plays McGee], and Cote [de Pablo], when she was there, they work 12 hours a day, nine months a year. Their schedule is grueling,” Perrette once told Paul Semel. “So all we have free are a couple months in the summer, and two weeks around Christmas. That’s not enough time to do a big movie, even if we wanted to.”
Pauley Perrette couldn’t do ‘The Big Bang Theory’ because of ‘NCIS’
Perrette also confided that their schedule stopped them from doing other shows. She looked forward to playing a part in The Big Bang Theory, jumping at the opportunity to do the show.
“I’m good friends with Chuck Lorre, and he had written me a part for The Big Bang Theory. And I’m good friends with all of those guys; I’ve known Johnny Galecki [who plays Leonard] forever. And I was stoked to be on that show, but we could not work it out, schedule-wise,” she said.
But Perrette asserted she doesn’t just limit her roles due to NCIS. The actor has certain standards she’s not willing to compromise for a role, which makes her selective.
“But I’m also super, super picky about what I do. There were two different films I was offered — one was a comedy, the other was a drama — and both had something that I thought was offensive,” she continued. “I won’t go against my morality to do a movie. Especially since, and this is another reason I don’t have time to do other things, I spend so much of my life working for the causes I believe in. When I do have free time, I work with like thirty charities, so there’s always something going on.”
Apart from that, Perrette considered herself a bit of a homebody. This made working more hours than she needed to even more unattractive.
“We also need downtime. I hate to leave my house. I’m a recluse. I hate traveling; I hate going anywhere. I don’t want to do anything. When I’m off, I want to be home and watch NCIS in my living room. I’ve learned to really take advantage of my downtime and make an effort to do nothing,” she said.
Given the actor’s lifestyle, it makes sense why she hasn’t appeared in too many projects after retiring from the show in 2018. Although she’s been involved in a few scandals and controversies since her departure.
Why ‘NCIS’ never became stale for Mark Harmon
Harmon starred in very few other projects after his casting as Leroy Gibbs. Mostly, the actor devoted all of his time and energy to the hit show. Despite being on NCIS for years, he asserted that he never got bored of the series. NCIS was still able to present him with exciting opportunities that kept him invested.
“Well, it’s just never happened. I mean, this role originally attracted me because it was about character, and there was humor. Yeah, there was a case, but the case wasn’t what drove the series. And I think that’s still true,” he once told The TV Addict. “And you’ve got a gathering of actors on this show who all like each other, and we all are continually challenged. This show continues to grow. And it continues to do better now than it did even last year. We’re doing better now.”
