I bet we've all wished one time or another for a phone call that would change our lives. A job promotion, good news from a family member, perhaps? But for NCIS star Mark Harmon, one phone call he made catapulted him into Hollywood acting roles.
As reported by People, he recalled it in an appearance on The Fifth Column podcast, where the NCIS star reflected on his life before he turned to acting. Harmon revealed that he originally was working in the advertising field before he decided to take a chance.
He explained that his job as a merchandising director was unfulfilling to him. "When the advertising stuff kind of stopped being... I just knew I had to get out of that and do something else, and I said that to my parents". He said that he had been attending an acting class as a hobby.
And while he wanted to have an acting career, it's a notoriously difficult field to get into. "I didn't have an agent. I didn't know what to do," he recalled. The NCIS star's first role on screen was a guest role on Ozzie's Girls. He got this role through his sister Kristin's husband, Ricky Nelson, who was already solidified in the television world.
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The 'NCIS' Star Made a Phone Call On a Whim
One day, he was watching Dragnet when he saw the studio ident for Mark VII Limited. And from there he worked on impulse.
He tracked down the company's number and gave them a call. A secretary answered him. Normally, you'd expect a secretary talking to a hotshot to just dismiss them, right? But, luckily for us all, they didn't—they put the NCIS star straight through to Jack Webb, the man behind the TV company.
Harmon recalled that, "We talked for a couple minutes and [Webb] said, 'Why don't you come in and talk to me?'. And I said, 'Okay', and I went into Universal, and I went into Mark VII."
And that conversation led to open doors for Harmon, including an early role as Officer Gus Corbin in Adam-12. His career diversified over the years, with him being cast in roles like Summer School, The Presidio, and Freaky Friday.
We're so glad he took that phone call!
