July 2024

During the course of an enviable career, Mark Harmon’s acting talent has earned him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. But it is his portrayal of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS for which he is most recognized. This fall brings NCIS: ORIGINS, which will explore the early career of Gibbs. Harmon will serve as narrator for the show, as well as executive producer. Additionally, he is reprising his role of “Ryan” in the 2025 “Freaky Friday” reboot with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

Harmon recently also added New York Times best-selling author to his list of accolades. Along with retired NCIS special agent and technical advisor on the television show, Leon Carroll, Jr., Harmon co-wrote Ghosts of Honolulu, which tells the true story of U.S. naval counterintelligence officer Douglas Wada, who worked to safeguard Pearl Harbor during World War II. The writing duo’s second book together, Ghosts of Panama, is due this fall.

Going into the ninth season of the original NCIS, Harmon was elevated to executive producer on the show, and to kick off the 10^th season, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the 11^th season of NCIS, he worked closely with showrunner Gary Glasberg on a special two-episode arc that reunited Gibbs with an old comrade who was working a case in New Orleans. Those episodes became the pilot for NCIS: NOLA, where Harmon served as executive producer.

During a summer hiatus from NCIS, Harmon developed, executive produced and starred in “Certain Prey,” an original movie for USA Network that was based on the series of Prey books by John Sandford. Harmon portrayed Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Lucas Davenport.

In other television work, he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for NBC’s much lauded “The West Wing.” Previously he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Special for “Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years.” He received two consecutive Golden Globe nominations for his work on “Reasonable Doubts” and received two additional Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Made for TV – one for “After the Promise,” and another for his role as notorious serial killer Ted Bundy in “The Deliberate Stranger.” Along with his co-stars on “Chicago Hope,” Harmon received two Best Ensemble SAG Award nominations. While on the hit show, Harmon also directed several episodes of the program. Other notable television performances include astronaut Wally Schirra in HBO’s “From Earth to the Moon” produced by Tom Hanks, “St. Elsewhere,” “Moonlighting,” and Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth.”

On the big screen, Harmon played the co-host of a local morning news show in the indie film “Weather Girl,” the president of the United States in Warner Brothers’ film “Chasing Liberty” with Mandy Moore, and opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the Disney hit remake of “Freaky Friday.” He made his feature film debut in Alan Pakula’s “Comes a Horseman.” Additional credits include Lawrence Kasdan’s “Wyatt Earp,” “Stealing Home” with Jodie Foster, “The Presidio,” and Carl Reiner’s smash hit “Summer School.” Harmon also made memorable cameo appearances in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Natural Born Killers” and “The Last Supper.” He lent his voice to the character of “Superman” in Warner Home Video’s release “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.”

Onstage, Harmon has appeared in Kevin Wade’s “Key Exchange,” Bill C. Davis’ “Wrestlers” and Mark Medoff’s “The Wager.” In addition, he has done several successful productions of A.R. Gurney’s hit play “Love Letters” with his wife, actress Pam Dawber.

Born and raised in Southern California, Harmon excelled in sports. He quarterbacked UCLA to multiple winning football seasons and was presented the National Collegiate Football Foundation Award for All Around Excellence. The National Football Foundation recently bestowed Harmon with their highest honor, the Gold Medal, making him the first recipient in their organization to receive both the Scholar Athlete Award and the Gold Medal. He is a cum laude graduate, with a degree in communications. His father, Tom Harmon, was a Heisman Trophy recipient and nationally acclaimed broadcaster, and his mother was former actress Elyse Knox.