There’s no hesitation from “NCIS” actress Diona Reasonover when talking about costar David McCallum on the CBS crime drama.
Reasonover, who plays Kasie Hines on the show, shared her exuberance over working with him.
“Kasie loves the Duck!” she said to TV Insider in a 2018 interview. “It’s really been great working with David. He called me right after my first guest star episode premiered and told me what a great job I did, which was so kind and so generous of him.”
‘NCIS’ Star Gets A Kick Out Of Working With TV Legends On Her Show
Hines works with McCallum’s character Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard in the medical examiner’s office. McCallum has been a regular on “NCIS” since the show first debuted in 2003.
“He’s one of many TV legends working on the show, so it’s very much like ‘I bow down to you,'” Reasonover, who is a native of Detroit, Mich., said. “I love that Kasie also getting a chance to hang out with Jimmy [Brian Dietzen]. I like to call Kasie, Jimmy, and Ducky ‘the glasses crew.'”
After having a guest-starring role as Hines, “NCIS” turned Reasonover’s character into a full-time role. She took over when Pauley Perrette left the show after playing Abby for 15 seasons.
Reasonover First Caught TV Viewers’ Attention On Sitcom ‘Clipped’
Reasonover first caught TV viewers’ attention in “Clipped,” a short-lived sitcom on TBS where she played Charmaine Eskowitz. Other TV guest spots before her “NCIS” role included “2 Broke Girls,” “Future Man,” and “Grace and Frankie” with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
Earlier, Reasonover mentions working with TV legends. Other “NCIS” cast members with some previous TV experience include lead star Mark Harmon, who played on “St. Elsewhere.” McCallum, obviously, is a classic TV fan’s favorite from his time on “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” Even Wilder Valderamma, who played Fez on “That ’70s Show” for eight seasons, might be considered a TV legend to some viewers.
Besides Harmon and McCallum, Sean Murray is the other full-time cast member who has been with “NCIS” since its premiere. The franchise has two spinoffs starting and continuing this fall on CBS with “NCIS: Hawai’i” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
McCallum’s Popularity In 1960s Later Led Him To Comparison with 1970S Icon
“NCIS” fans love to see “Ducky” come along and help with the team in different cases. But David McCallum was an international star back in the 1960s thanks to his earlier TV show, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”
Yet his fame would lead him to make an interesting comparison with 1970s icon Farrah Fawcett, who starred on “Charlie’s Angels.” She also could be found on one of the most popular posters in history.
“I was the male Farrah Fawcett Majors of the ’60s,” he told the Radio Times. Fawcett was married for a period of time to “The Six Million Dollar Man” star Lee Majors.
One time, McCallum was mobbed in Central Park. NYPD rescued him. Another police rescue took place in Baton Rouge, La., when LSU students swarmed the Scottish actor.
Funny, though, that once the NBC spy series ended, all that nonsense stopped as well. McCallum did live through it all to tell the stories.
