Mark Harmon reveals touching way NCIS role helped him ‘grow’ his family with wife Pam Dawber

The former NCIS actor starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs for almost 20 years

Mark Harmon may no longer be on NCIS as the beloved Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but he will always be grateful for how the show allowed him to prioritize his family. The veteran actor, 72, was part of the NCIS family for almost 20 years, having been cast in the inaugural season of the hit CBS procedural in 2003, and remaining on the show for 19 seasons until his departure in 2021.

Today, he is still part of the show as an executive producer, and never misses a chance to express his appreciation for the long-running series. Speaking with People as he promoted his latest venture – his first historical nonfiction book, Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, a Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor – Mark looked back on how NCIS helped him balance his work and family life.

Although NCIS took a lot of his time, and he appeared on a whopping 435 episodes, he revealed to the outlet that he was influenced to take on the role because his schedule would allow him to spend ample time with his family, wife Pam Dawber, 73, and their kids Sean, 35, and Ty Christian, 31, especially being home for Saturday breakfast. “It was important to be able to make pancakes on Saturday morning,” he explained, adding: “And there were some times where that meant not sleeping. You just came home and took a shower and came back down. And yet I looked back at it and I don’t miss the sleep.”

After being introduced by mutual friends, Pam and Mark married in 1987 and welcomed two sons

He further recalled: “It is interesting because initially the decision to do the show in the first place was because I was traveling a lot doing movies and other things and I was trying to stay home more with a young family,” though then he added : “Then the first day on this show I worked 22 hours – and there were a lot of those days for a long time.”

MORE: Mark Harmon’s comments on private life and marriage

Mark and Pam, who have been married for 36 years, still live in California, and he said: “I just feel lucky,” and again crediting NCIS, added: “In many ways we’ve had a great opportunity to grow as a family. For the most part, a decision made 20 years ago anchored me in Los Angeles.” Mark also recently opened up to People about first meeting his wife back in 1986, after he “cold called” her asking her out on a date. Although he initially only got her voicemail, she eventually picked up, and the two tied the knot exactly one year after their first date.

Almost 40 years later, he declared he has “no secret” to his long lasting marriage, and simply said: “We laugh. You got to laugh, and you got to talk and communicate. That’s the fun part. Do we sit and talk about it? No. Maybe you just get lucky and find the right one. We share many things and yet we’re really different.”