In Harmon’s departure, NCIS star Sean Murray appeared in a final scene with longtime series star Mark Harmon. Working with Harmon at the time brought up a lot of emotions for Murray.
“I had a lot of feelings about it because, well, you know, Harmon is like a mentor to me, and saying goodbye on screen was difficult,” Sean Murray told Entertainment Weekly. “But at the same time, I felt that if anyone were to do it, McGee is the right one.
Sean Murray of ‘NCIS’ called working with Mark Harmon a ‘unbelievable experience.’
“Filming was an incredible experience. It’s something I’ll never forget. It was just me, Harmon, Gary, and a few other members of our crew. We boarded a private plane, flew to Alaska for a week, and shot some of the best footage we’ve ever done.
“We were fly fishing in the water, and as I was saying goodbye to Mark, the entire crew started crying. Danny, one of the grips came up to me afterward and he goes, ‘I got a bone to pick with you. I’m an adult. Standing in the river, you had me in tears.”
Murray’s Timothy McGee is the longest-running character on the show now that Harmon is no longer on it. What effect has this had on him and his work?
Murray stated that as the show went on, his Timothy McGee has made strides.
“It’s been interesting because McGee was the show’s penultimate rookie character when it first started,” Sean Murray said. “And he has progressed as the show has progressed. He’s definitely more confident in himself and capable of doing so much more than he used to be.
“We’ve got our writers, we’ve got our guys who have been with us for so long, and they know this character almost as well as I do,” he explained. “So it kind of comes naturally with the material, the way the character has grown over the years and I’ve grown as an actor over the years doing that character.
“I think it’s pretty cool that I’ve played the same character for over 20 years,” Sean Murray said. “(And) I don’t think there’s a lot of actors that get the privilege of doing that. I remember telling the writers early on that I didn’t want to be baby Maggie Simpson. I don’t want to play the same role every week and never grow. And they were very invested in the character’s development. So it’s just been a natural and enjoyable thing to do.”