Mark Harmon’s actor career and family life

NCIS stardom

Mark was cast as special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in 2003. The actor – then 52 – had already established himself in Hollywood, but little did he know how popular the show would become. Over 18 years, Mark became an NCIS legend. Chatting to Larry King, in 2014, the actor credited the “cast and crew” with the show’s enduring success. “You know I think we’ve worked really hard,” he said. “It wasn’t always as successful as it is now, and I think a lot of people are responsible for that. I think it’s important on this show how people are treated, and you’ve got to give credit to the cast and the crew.” While Mark decided to leave NCIS in 2021, he remains a producer, and he’s also planning to reprise his role in the prequel series, NCIS: Origins.

On-set feuds

Mark didn’t get off to a great start with his NCIS co-star, Michael Weatherly. In 2020 – four years after he’d left the drama – Michael revealed that the two had initially clashed on set. “Mark Harmon and I were on different poles,” he told The Futon Critic. “I was Antarctica, he was the North Pole and we were just looking down there going, ‘What is up with your polarity? What’s going on? The water goes down the drain the other way for me.'”

“He was confused by my presence right from the get-go,” added Michael. “When CNN Showbiz Today or one of those things asked what was the best part about doing the pilot when we were doing the offensives, I said, ‘I got a rubber gun and I got a fake badge.’ “Harmon looked at me like, ‘That is your CNN answer?’ [Laughs.] And I was like a little kid who had one too many bowls of Count Chocula.”

These days, Michael and Mark are on far better terms, and after becoming the lead of Bull, in 2016, Michael was “illuminated” and finally understood Mark’s stance on the show. “It’s been very illuminating and given me a great deal of insight and regard for what Mark Harmon was doing all those years,” he said. “When I was like, ‘How come he doesn’t have as much fun as the rest of us?'” During his time on NCIS, Mark had another famous feud, specifically with Pauley Perette. Following the actress’ decision to depart the show in series 15, reports quickly emerging of a falling out with series lead Mark. The two stars allegedly clashed behind the scenes in 2016 after the Gibbs actor brought his dog to set, where it bit a crew member, leaving him using 15 stitches.

“In Pauley Perrette’s case, there was an incident with the show with a dog. The dog was Mark Harmon’s, and apparently the dog bit someone. Pauley was a huge, huge SPCA [Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] animal person. And then the dog kept coming with Harmon, and she felt it wasn’t safe for the show,” executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson revealed. “By the end of that year, she just felt like it wasn’t working for her anymore, and it was time to move on.” Mark has never addressed the reports, and as of 2020, Pauley has retired from acting.

Family life with Pam Dawber

Mark fell for Mork and Mindy actress Pam Dawber in 1986. Speaking to People in November, the actor explained that a mutual friend had intended to set them up on a group date. But, preferring a more direct approach, he decided to take the reins. “I said, ‘Can I just call? Can I get a number and just cold call?’ And so I did,” he recalled. “I got the number, and I called, and I got an answering machine. And I started to leave a message that said, ‘We don’t have to all go out. We could get a cup of coffee or something.’ And then she was monitoring and she picked up. We went out that night and we’re together ever since.”

Almost a year to the day, Mark and Pam tied the knot in 1987, and they’ve since welcomed two sons – Sean, 35, and Ty, 31. The duo – who live a quiet life in California – recently celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary. An extremely private couple, while Mark rarely divides details about his family life in interviews, he mentioned Pam on occasion. Declaring that there’s “no secret” to a happy marriage, Mark told People: “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.”

When he’s not on set, Mark has a collection of rings that he likes to wear on his wedding finger. “I wear it or a few others I have because when I’m not shooting, I like to make sure I have something on my ring finger, because I’m proud to be married, and I’m proud of who I’m married to,” he shared in 2019. “I’m just so proud of her.” We’re not crying…