NCIS star Mark Harmon already built up a close and tight partnership with his co-stars. So when there were talks of adding another member to the team, Harmon wasn’t initially convinced it would’ve been a good idea.
Mark Harmon quickly warmed up to Cote de Pablo
Harmon admitted that he wasn’t completely sold on adding a new NCIS cast member. Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David made her appearance during the show’s third season in 2005. By then, Harmon already developed rapport with castmates like Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette. When showrunners considered adding a new cast member to the group, Harmon was cautious.
“Chemistry is a big intangible in television,” Harmon once told Carnegie Mellon. “We made some headway over the past two years, and the fact we were replacing a major character made us all a little concerned.”
But Harmon was somewhat relieved of his concerns when he saw what de Pablo was capable of. A hard worker himself, the NCIS star was impressed by her work ethic and preparedness. It didn’t take long until he was convinced de Pablo would be a good fit for the team.
“Before I ever knew her, I remember seeing her in the squad room set, and I watched her walk from Point A to Point B after a shot. I watched her tousle the head of the dolly grip and hug the director of photography and continue right on. It’s just what she does, who she is,” Harmon said. “Cote did nothing other than what she’d do every day.”
Cote de Pablo found out she was cast in ‘NCIS’ after refusing to ride home with Michael Weatherly
Walking in to audition for NCIS, de Pablo already felt she had stiff competition. At the time, she didn’t know about the very favorable impression she left on NCIS creator Donald Bellisario, who was impressed by her audition tape. Her confidence faltered a bit when she met another actor who hoped to be cast as Ziva David. The actor told de Pablo this was her 12th audition for the role, which added more pressure.
Weatherly might’ve only made the audition even more difficult for de Pablo. The actor famously went off script during his screening with her, which caught de Pablo completely by surprise.
“Coming from theater, my training is that you respect the words, and you say it as it is,” de Pablo said.
Still, de Pablo didn’t allow Weatherly’s improvisation to rattle her.
“I dismissed him completely,” she said. “My primary thought was, ‘Don’t let this guy get physically close to you.’ And, at that moment, everybody in the room started laughing and thought it was the funniest thing in the world because the chemistry between the two characters was perfect.”
NCIS producer at the time Charles Floyd Johnson asserted that her interaction with Weatherly was what ultimately won de Pablo the part.
“When you get actors who really listen and respond organically in the moment to what they’re hearing, sometimes magic happens,” Johnson said. “They really seemed to get that immediately, and that doesn’t always happen.”
After the audition, Bellisario wanted Weatherly to take de Pablo home. After poltely declining the offer a few times, Bellisario couldn’t help but break the good news.
“Damn it,” Bellisario said. “This is not the way I wanted to say it, but you got the job, I just need you to get familiar with Michael Weatherly.”
The car ride home turned out to be a good thing for both de Pablo and Weatherly, as the two were able to bond.
“Initially, I thought, ‘Wow this is a frosty, unfriendly, almost mean girl,’” Weatherly said. “But by the end of it, I dropped her off and thought, ‘Wow, she’s kind of sweet deep down.’ Cote, in her intimate way, she gets very close to you when she talks, and you get a little googly-eyed.”