“NCIS: Origins” paid tribute to the beloved Donald “Ducky” Mallard in its latest episode, bringing actor Adam Campbell to help memorialize the medical examiner played by David McCallum.
Episode 3, titled “The Edge,” introduced Young Ducky (Campbell) to the NIS team at Camp Pendleton as an outsider from D.C. assigned to assess the team’s need for a full-time medical examiner. The assignments sparked some animosity at the start, especially from Franks (Kyle Schmid) and Lala (Mariel Molino), out of fear his visit would bring restructuring or job losses among the team. But just like the Ducky “NCIS” fans grew to love throughout his run on the flagship series, Campbell’s Ducky quickly won over his new friends with his loving demeanor.
The episode also served as a tribute to McCallum, who died in 2023. Beyond bringing Campbell back into the franchise — after last appearing on “NCIS” as Young Ducky in 2020 — the 1990s-set spinoff featured McCallum’s iconic song “The Edge.”
“I hadn’t done anything in that universe for a few years so I was a little bit nervous to get back into it,” Campbell told TheWrap of his “NCIS” return. “It was absolutely brilliant.”
The episode also served as an origin story of sorts — pun intended — for Ducky’s close friendship with Gibbs (Austin Stowell). And knowing that Ducky will eventually join the team full-time per franchise lore, it’s not out of bounds to assume this would be the first of many appearances for Campbell. But the actor stayed mum on the plans moving forward.
“I’m wearing a shock collar in case I say the wrong thing. But I’m excited to see what the writers do,” Campbell said. “It does seem like there’s certainly opportunity for Ducky to arrive again.”
Below, Campbell speaks with TheWrap about the tribute episode and more. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
TheWrap: Ducky is tasked with visiting Camp Pendleton and assessing if the team needs an in-house medical examiner, which makes a few members of the team nervous — especially Franks. What was your reaction to seeing how Ducky’s storyline would play out?
Campbell: It was really great because Ducky is such a charming, disarming character, and so at the beginning of the episode, certainly he’s treated more as a reason to be afraid. I think people are very suspicious of him. I think they feel like “Who is this strange, eccentric wearing a bow tie?”
I think the team at Pendleton are genuinely anxious that he’s going to perhaps even restructure things. Maybe some people will lose their jobs. So I don’t think he’s met initially with kindness. There’s a certain amount of distrust they have of him. But of course, as the episode goes on, I think they lower their guards. They realize he’s not a threat at all. And in fact, he’s the opposite — a comfort to some of them, particularly in Franks’ case.
We get to see the beginnings of Gibbs and Ducky’s close friendship, as the show also paid tribute to David McCallum playing his songs. What does it mean to you to help memorialize a beloved member of the “NCIS” family?
I was really touched and relieved to be able to keep playing the younger version of Ducky. I met David numerous times over the years, and I was really fond of him. He was extremely kind to me and really welcoming, especially when I first got the job. So there’s a degree of sadness filming the episode, because I think David’s presence loomed large over it. Everyone was aware that this was an opportunity to honor him. And so there was a lot of goodwill towards the character. Also for me, there was an extra responsibility I was carrying. I didn’t want to mess it up. I wanted to do a good job for him.
And as you mentioned his music. I actually didn’t know until the table read of this episode that he had written that stuff. I’d heard the music and, of course, everyone knows the modern iteration of that piece of music. But I had no idea David did that. It just shows that he may have been one of the most talented people to come out of England.
How was it to work with Austin to explore the beginnings of Gibbs and Ducky’s close friendship?
It was actually really cool the way they wrote it, because you could tell that Ducky really remembers the first time they met and hung out — and Ducky has this excitement about being reunited with Gibbs again, and even comes bearing this lovely gift for him. I think the first time they met, Gibbs had a profound effect on Ducky. This man encouraged him to pursue a career as a medical examiner. And when Ducky arrives, Gibbs isn’t that bothered about seeing Ducky again, it’s almost like he doesn’t really remember much of that interaction, or at least he doesn’t remember it as fondly. So I love the way they’ve written that there’s this almost sadness that Ducky feels.
And of course, for Gibbs, a lot has happened to him and he’s been through his own tragedy. And I suppose it’s understandable that he might not recall meeting this eccentric doctor with such fondness, but I really like the way the writers play on that to begin with. And of course, by the end of the episode, you realize there is a very strong, deep connection there. And yeah, it leaves it open to what sort of future does this friendship have.
A mistake during the case changes Ducky forever, leading to his habit of talking to the dead bodies he examines. How was it to explore that part of his story?
This episode shows how Ducky becomes the examiner that we know him to be on “NCIS.” He’s stung a little bit in this episode, and he realizes he used to be a medical doctor; he used to interact with living, breathing people. He doesn’t do that anymore. He’s frustrated by it. And this epiphany he has that, “Hey, I need to treat these dead bodies, these victims, as humans. I need to treat them as once living people who have living, breathing relatives.”
It’s really good to see that in this episode, this desire to treat these victims with a new dignity. And he starts to do that at the end of this episode. It’s really cool to see it happen.
Ducky also got some great scenes with both Lala and Franks, as he helped both with issues they’ve been dealing with this season. How was it to work with Mariel and Kyle on those scenes?
The cast is lovely, and they could not have been warmer and nicer to me just letting me join in. I got on so well with everyone, and they are not only brilliant actors, they have a really good connection together. It was just a really fun set to be on.
I thought it was really cool, from a writing point of view, that Ducky gets to make himself useful in various ways. That suspicion that people had of him at the beginning of the episode with Lala and Franks, that suspicion evaporates and they realize this guy does actually care about me. And there’s something about Ducky, in the case of Franks, where maybe it’s easier for him to talk to a stranger about some of the stuff he’s going through, particularly with his brother, than he would with a friend.
Ducky provides this listening device for Franks and he is no longer threatened by him. And I think the same happens with Lala.
“NCIS: Origins” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
