When David McCallum passed away in September 2023, it was a major blow to one of the longest-running TV series of the modern era — “NCIS.” For 20 seasons, he played Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. While his career spanned decades, it’s safe to say most fans knew him for this role, which makes it intriguing to consider what would’ve happened if the part had gone to someone else.
On the same day of McCallum’s death, The Hollywood Reporter published an oral history of “NCIS,” where producers and other people who work behind the scenes discussed the ins and outs of making the show. This includes a rundown of the A-listers considered for the role of Gibbs (Mark Harmon), such as Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Bacon, Patrick Swayze, and Scott Glenn. Not only did the team think Glenn would make a good Gibbs, but he was also in contention for the part of Ducky. As casting director Susan Bluestein explained, “Scott Glenn was also being considered for the role of Ducky. There was a lot of discussion about Scott Glenn, and ultimately, Scott Glenn passed. And other people passed for Gibbs.
Scott Glenn also has an impressive resume, from Jack Crawford in “Silence of the Lambs” to Stick in Netflix’s “Daredevil.” It’s safe to say he would’ve brought a decidedly different energy to Ducky than McCallum did, but everything worked out for the best in the end.
The cast of NCIS could’ve looked very different
A big part of the appeal of a show like “NCIS” is watching characters (and the actors who play them) throughout hundreds of episodes over many years. They become a comforting force where you can be reasonably certain that the same people will be on the TV screen every week. We got that with David McCallum and Mark Harmon, but it’s interesting to think about how the dynamics on the show would’ve changed had the team gone with different actors.
For casting Gibbs, the team considered some major Hollywood players, but even they admit those were pipe dreams. When discussing all of the A-listers considered for Gibbs, Susan Bluestein clarified, “We did not make offers to those people. We just investigated.” While the likes of Harrison Ford and Clive Owen might do TV series these days, the entertainment landscape was very different back in the early 2000s. Television hadn’t quite entered its Golden Era yet, so there was a next-to-zero possibility of Ford signing on for a police procedural. But Bluestein vouched for Harmon, having cast him in a TV movie previously, and that’s ultimately what stuck.
Another pie-in-the-sky casting was Jennifer Aniston as Kate Todd, as the actor’s career was hot toward the end of her run on “Friends.” “NCIS” could’ve been a positively star-studded affair, but instead, it brought in actors who could really commit to these actors and helped turn “NCIS” into the juggernaut it remains today.