Throughout its 22-season run, NCIS has seen many actors come and go, with one of the most famous arguably being Pauley Perrette. The former actress starred as forensic specialist Abby Sciuto during the show's first 15 seasons. While it’s no secret that Perrette left NCIS due to some alleged troubles on set with lead actor Mark Harmon, she also opened up about what it was really like working on the show while also reflecting on not cameoing on The Big Bang Theory as desired.
What Did Pauley Perrette Say About Working On NCIS?
Pauley Perrette was one of the original NCIS actors that first appeared in the two-part JAG backdoor pilot. She quickly became a fan-favorite on the long-running procedural, which is arguably better than the show it spun off from. While Perrette found success on the show, that doesn’t mean it was all easy. Throughout most of her time on the series, she had to remain deeply committed to the series. And, as she once told Paul Semel, that had ramifications on other aspects of her career:
There’s a couple reasons. When you’re on a sitcom, you work four days a week. You do a couple table reads, you do it in front of an audience, and then you go home. But for Mark [Harmon, who plays Gibbs], Michael [Weatherly, who plays DiNozzo], Sean [Murray, who plays McGee], and Cote [de Pablo, who played Ziva], when she was there, they work twelve hours a day, nine months a year. Their schedule is grueling.
Doing a show like NCIS that can be mentally and physically taxing, as it can require long hours and a lot of shooting days. And, even though there are usually about two months or so of free-time in between seasons, the Ring alum said isn’t enough time to do a “big movie.” She also missed an opportunity to pop up on one of TV's biggest sitcoms.
What Happened With The Star's Big Bang Theory Cameo?
The Big Bang Theory welcomed a plethora of guest actors during its 12-season run. Pauley Perrette explained that when it came to her showing up on CBS' multi-camera comedy series, there were plenty of pieces in place to make it happen. However, she recalled it falling through:
Or even a TV show. I’m good friends with Chuck Lorre, and he had written me a part for The Big Bang Theory. And I’m good friends with all of those guys; I’ve known Johnny Galecki [who plays Leonard] forever. And I was stoked to be on that show, but we could not work it out, schedule-wise.
It’s disappointing that the actress couldn’t even carve out time to do The Big Bang Theory, but lends credence to just how busy she was with NCIS. I can't help but wonder what other kind of excellent work she might've been able to land had she not been so consumed with the hit crime drama. What I'd also like to know is who she would've played on TBBT.
Pauley Perrette retired from acting after her sitcom Broke was canceled after one season in 2020. She previously opened up about quitting acting, saying she wasn’t ungrateful that she was also a “different person now.” Considering the grueling schedule on the military drama, I can’t say I blame Perrette for wanting to step away, especially since she’s been focusing on herself.
That being said, it’s not uncommon for a TV actor to not take on many side gigs if they’re on a show long-term, whether it’s because of scheduling or because they simply want to take a break when they aren’t working. It just so happened to be the former for Pauley Perrette, and I'll continue to think about what could've been had her schedule been more open. At the very least, fans can watch Perrette's excellent work in the first 15 seasons of NCIS using a Paramount+ subscription.
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