Mark Harmon spent nearly 20 years playing the role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, and it’s not an understatement to say his performance is a big part of the reason the franchise exists as it does today, with multiple spinoffs over the years. NCIS: Origins, which tells the story of Gibbs’ early career, recently crossed over with the main show, marking the occasion with a rare return appearance from Harmon, his first since leaving the show in 2021.
One of the things that's always made Gibbs such a fun and intriguing character is his list of Rules. Across his life and career, Gibbs created the series of specific guidelines that the O.G. show often referred back to. The recent crossover episode dealt specifically with one of those rules, No. 11: "When the job's over, walk away." Origins co-creator David J. North recently told EW about talking with Harmon while doing voice work for the new episode, and it turns out the Rules are a favorite topic among fans. North explained:
We were in the sound studio doing Mark's voiceover with him the other day. I was talking to him about what this is in Episode 5, how so much of it is based on rule No. 11, 'When the job's over, walk away.' And he said, 'Man, the fans walk up to me nonstop and ask me about those rules.'
NCIS crossovers have become a staple of the franchise, and see a criminal case that starts on one show cross borders to arrive in another show. This one was something a bit new as it introduced a case early in Gibbs’ career that saw the guilty party get away, only for the case to return to the desks of the modern NCIS agents, giving them a chance to finally catch the bad guy.
Mark Harmon Does Not Know Gibbs' Rules The Way Fans Do
It’s definitely not a surprise that fans would ask about the rules. They were a key part of the character, and learning a new Gibbs Rule was always fun and interesting. Unfortunately, it seems there’s something about Mark Harmon’s relationship to the rules that, according to North, “fans will be pissed off about” because apparently, Harmon hasn't actually kept any of the rules committed to memory. North continued:
I said, 'Do you know any of them? Do you know one of the rules?' And he goes, 'There's one about a knife.'
I can only imagine fans coming up to Mark Harmon and asking about the rules, only to be disappointed when they realize he doesn’t actually know them. Considering how long the actor played Gibbs, I understand why people might think he’d have them memorized, but for him, the rules were just lines in a script that he read and then moved on.
For the record, the “one about a knife” is Rule 9: "Never go anywhere without a knife." You probably won't need one to watch new episodes of NCIS and NCIS: Origins every Monday night on CBS, but better to be safe than sorry.
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