ncis mark harmon shock confession personal life

NCIS' Mark Harmon disagrees with wife as he makes unexpected confession about marriage

The former NCIS star has been married to Pam Dawber since 1987

US Managing Editor
October 17, 2022

Mark Harmon is a devoted family man and has been married to actress Pam Dawber since 1987.

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The former NCIS star is incredibly protective of his privacy and rarely gives interviews, but when he has done, he's shared some fascinating insights into his life away from acting.

What's more, the beloved actor previously revealed the rather unique secret to his long-lasting relationship with Pam, explaining to People that it was the fact that they don't always agree with each other.

VIDEO: NCIS tease major twist for Mark Harmon's character Leroy Gibbs

"We don't generally like the same thing, and that's been healthy for us, actually," he said. The star was talking in context of a film role that they had disagreed on.

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He told the publication that his wife was actually not in favor of him taking on his role as Freddy Shoop in Summer School back in 1987.

"I wanted to do it just because I was excited to work with Carl Reiner," he said. "That was a game changer for me, like, 'He thinks I can do this?! and that meant a lot. But Pam said, 'Don't do that. Don't do this movie.'"

ncis mark harmon shock revelation family life

Mark Harmon and his wife Pam Dawber often disagree

Mark also feels that the secret behind their relationship is maturity, with the pair both tying the knot in their thirties.

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"We were both in our thirties when we got married, so hopefully the stupid stuff we did earlier. That's probably the closest I have to what the key is," he said.

Mark and Pam are parents to two grown-up sons, Sean and Ty. In fact, Sean and Ty have both followed in their parents' footsteps in the industry.

The celebrity couple are notoriously private

Ty is working as a screenwriter while Sean is an actor. Ever since 2008, he has appeared in NCIS as a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs in flashback episodes.

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To date, he has appeared on seven of the show’s episodes, with his most recent cameo being in the 2020 episode Everything Starts Somewhere. Mark's fans were left devastated when he left his role as Leroy Gibbs in NCIS in season 19 of the popular show.

He opened up about his decision to quit the program almost a year after leaving the show, for a special featurette on the show's season 19 DVD release.

He sat down to discuss the legacy of his character, as well as his thoughts on how the show wrapped up his storyline, and admitted that the opportunity to tackle "fresh" and "challenging" material is what kept him returning to the drama every season, alluding to the possibility that he felt that after almost two decades on the show, he no longer felt that was the case.

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