NCIS: Gibbs Almost Had A Different Name - But Mark Harmon Shut It Down

Mark Harmon was immediately drawn toward his role on "NCIS," but he had to fight for his character to keep his name. While speaking to ET Online, the actor revealed that he loved the script for the procedural series when he first read it. He also liked the name Leroy Jethro Gibbs for his character, which partly attracted him to the gig. That said, the show's creators wanted to switch to a more generic name for the agent, but Harmon wasn't a fan of their idea.

According to Harmon, he insisted on keeping the name Gibbs, and the creators seemingly listened to him. "[They wanted to rename him] Bob Johnson or something like that. 'No, no, it's gotta be Leroy Jethro Gibbs,'" he said. "'No, you can't play a guy named Leroy Jethro Gibbs,' and I said, 'Why not?'" And then it went back, and I was happy about it."

Harmon revealed that "NCIS" creator Donald P. Bellisario wanted to change his character's name, not the network. Ultimately, the Gibbs moniker stuck, and the rest is history. Gibbs became one of the faces of the show for almost 20 years. Still, fans might be wondering whether Gibbs will return for "NCIS" Season 21.

While he left in Season 19, Mark Harmon could return to "NCIS" under one condition. The show's producers recently revealed that Gibbs could return, but only if the story is good enough to warrant such a monumental comeback. As it stands, though, Harmon's "NCIS" future is up in the air, but that doesn't mean he's retired from the procedural series.

As documented by Hello!, Harmon revealed that he needed time away from "NCIS" to focus on other challenges, but he confirmed that Gibbs hasn't retired from law enforcement. That said, as the aforementioned ET Online article notes, Harmon said that he misses his former colleagues, suggesting that he's game for one last hurrah. Furthermore, he continues to serve as an executive producer on "NCIS," so he's still involved with the show to some degree.

It remains to be seen if Harmon will return to "NCIS." However, fans can rest assured knowing that he fought for his character to have such an original name.