They may be married in real life. But actor Pam Dawber was against playing a love interest for her husband Mark Harmon on the hit drama “NCIS.”
Dawber played a recurring role for four episodes during Season 18. “NCIS” cast her as Marcie, an investigative journalist that assisted Harmon’s Gibbs. By the end of the season, the two were investigating a potential serial killer. But those investigations might now be blown up. Well, at least Gibbs’ boat is. In the final moments of the season, someone attempted to kill Harmon’s character.
With Season 19 on the way, viewers may see Dawber’s Marcie once more. But fans shouldn’t expect her to play a love interest for Harmon in the upcoming season. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly from this past April, Dawber said she was against the idea.
“I talked to the writers and the producers before I signed on. And said, ‘If this is a romantic interest, I’m not interested,'” Dawber said. “They said not at all, that’s not where we’re going with this.”
‘NCIS’ Fans Debate Marcie on the Show
Well, that should be the relief of several diehard “NCIS” fans. Recently, they took to Reddit to discuss all things about the show. And not everyone was a fan of Dawber’s casting on the show. Despite being married in real life, one Reddit user felt, Dawber and Harmon had no chemistry on the show. But given Dawber’s reluctance to become a love interest, maybe that was by design.
“I’m sorry but I don’t like Marcie!!” the user posted. “Pam Dawber just doesn’t fit in with this show!! I hate when shows bring in the actors real spouses. To me there is zero chemistry!!”
Another viewer believed the pandemic may have played a role in Dawber being on “NCIS” as a result. Both Harmon and Dawber live together, so they could undergo social distancing together. But that may be at a discredit to Dawber as an actor. She has admittedly turned down several roles on the show prior, preferring to stand on her own as an actor.
Still as far as Marcie goes, some fans just found her plain annoying. They didn’t really like how the character was introduced this season. Some also didn’t like the fact that the real-life married couple were acting together on screen.
“Just because they are married doesn’t guarantee chemistry,” another user said. “Do you remember the movie that starred Tom Cruise and his wife at the time Nicole Kidman? They had zero chemistry [and] the movie was a flop. I just don’t see it at all.”
Of course, it’s possible that fans still aren’t over Maria Bello’s Jacqueline Sloan leaving the show. The character was a love interest for Harmon’s Gibbs. But she departed with only a kiss.
