Being on as long as it has, it’s not surprising NCIS has featured a rotating cast over the years. Of course, there are still a few that have stuck it out since the first season, such as Brian Dietzen and Sean Murray, and neither have indicated they plan on leaving any time soon. Up until his death in September, David McCallum was the lone actor still left from NCIS’ backdoor pilot from the JAG years who still frequently appeared. Given his age, McCallum appeared in fewer episodes in more recent seasons, and his longtime co-star Dietzen had a perfect Ducky quote to tie it all together.
Before retiring as chief medical examiner, Ducky still often went away to teach at universities and elsewhere, and the characters made him the NCIS historian post-retirement, so that he could still help out the team and stay with NCIS. That story choice also meant he didn’t appear in as many episodes, yet could bounce back to help out when needed, whether for personal or professional reasons. Dietzen, who actually co-wrote the Ducky tribute episode, told Variety that McCallum’s ability and willingness to continue being on the series through and beyond his 80s was just who he was, and shared the Ducky quote that perfectly summarizes it. In his (and Ducky's) words:
And what was incredible was that he was largely a very, very healthy person, keeping himself well. I mean, he was doing Pilates. And he still just hit the scenes hard. I mean, the scene that keeps being shown for these promos is a scene from a show where the character of Gibbs has just left (in the opening stretch of the 2021-22 season), and Jimmy is having a tough time with that and says, ‘We just lost Gibbs. Bishop just left, and I lost Breena last year, and I’m just about ready for people to stop leaving. I’m having a tough time here.’ And David says — or sorry, Ducky says — ‘Change is the essence of life, and our pain is a small price to pay for his peace.’ That scene, when we filmed that, that was probably one of the last handful of scenes that he and I got to film in person together. He just knocked it out of the park. And that was him at 88 years old, and just tremendous.
That scene in question is definitely an emotional one, especially since it came at a time where the show was already going through a major change due to Mark Harmon departing. The fact that it’s also one of the last scenes that Dietzen filmed with McCallum makes it all the more special due to the nature of the scene. It was in true Ducky fashion to give Jimmy that advice, and it works for just about every change, no matter how big or small.
For any actor that devotes a lot of time to a project, it can definitely be a hard and challenging process, regardless of age. David McCallum had been acting for decades, and he stuck with his craft for as long as he possibly could, quite literally. Brian Dietzen shares his own ideas for why McCallum started showing up less frequently over time, theorizing that it was a combination of later-in-life desires and personal choices, as opposed to anything else.
So, as far as him pulling back and wanting to do less, I think it had very, little to do with health or ability or anything like that, and much more to do with ‘what’s smart for my life, what’s good for me — but I never want to stop doing this, because it feeds my soul, it feeds my creative energy.’ He always had been and always will be an actor. But he also wanted to just spend time with family. And he was so encouraging of me in my journey in taking over the role of medical examiner on the show. He couldn’t have been more supportive and more kind.
McCallum still appeared in a handful of episodes and was still considered to be a series regular in recent seasons. His last appearance on NCIS was in the Season 20 finale, and was still as important as ever. Even if he didn't appear in all over 450 episodes of NCIS, McCallum and Ducky have been essential to the procedural drama since the very earliest days, and the impact from both will definitely will continue to be a big felt long after his death.
It’s remarkable that David McCallum was able to still be in so many episodes of NCIS considering his age, and had not been for the strikes, it’s possible he may have even been in an early episode of Season 21. Either way, Ducky was right when he said, “Change is the essence of life,” no matter how much pain it brings. And for anyone needing a quick jolt, you can always rewatch McCallum's successes on NCIS with a Paramount+ subscription.
