'NCIS': An Iconic Actor Nearly Portrayed Gibbs Before Mark Harmon's Casting

In a different world, Harrison Ford may have played Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS. In honor of the CBS procedural's 20th anniversary, The Hollywood Reporter got together the show's creative minds to open up about the show's long history and background. There was a long list of names considered to play Gibbs before Mark Harmon landed the role. When the series' JAG backdoor pilot was being planned, executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson admitted that "Harrison Ford was a name that everybody thought about for Gibbs because he was so perfect. But I don't think it ever got further than, it was a name thrown out."

"[On] Harrison Ford — when you sit down, and you have an initial conversation about casting, no name is off the table," Peter Golden, former head of CBS casting, shared. "Back in the early 2000s, the Harrison Fords of the world [rarely did TV]. But that didn't mean you didn't put them on the list." Meanwhile, NCIS casting director Susan Bluestein said that she didn't remember Harrison Ford but admitted "there were names like Alec Baldwin, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Kevin Bacon, Tom Berenger, Val Kilmer, Charlie Sheen, Aidan Quinn, Patrick Swayze. We did not make offers to those people. We just investigated." 

The list doesn't end there, however. JAG producer and NCIS co-creator Don McGill mentioned that Andrew McCarthy "at one point was in the mix for Gibbs. He and Don Bellisario met and talked over the role." Since Bluestein actually cast Mark Harmon for a previous movie, he had been on her "NCIS list from day one. I always felt like Mark really had the gravitas for this character." After Harmon met with Bellisario, JAG creator and NCIS co-creator, he went on to play Gibbs for 18 full seasons before leaving at the beginning of Season 19.

It was also revealed that Scott Glenn "was considered very strongly," according to Charles Floyd Johnson. Susan Bluestein mentioned that he 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." Speaking of passing, Johnson said that Robyn Lively's character in the two-episode backdoor pilot didn't quite work out, so they had to figure out a new character. Jennifer Aniston's "name was floated," and Sasha Alexander came in at the last minute and fit perfectly.

It's crazy to think how different NCIS would have been had the roles gone to someone else. Who knows if the show would have gone as long as it had with a different cast. Luckily, fans won't have to worry about that. NCIS has 20 seasons under its belt, and it is still going strong, even with some of the cast coming and going. Thanks to streaming, fans can rewatch the entire series on Paramount+ and relive their favorite moments with their favorite characters.