Heartbreaking passing: Rocky Carroll, who brought Leon Vance to NCIS, dies md20

In an exclusive conversation with Murray, Collider caught up with the NCIS vet to discuss his long tenure on the show and filming the newest episode. Murray talks about the importance of keeping such a series fresh and exciting, where the cast and writers are always coming up with new, fun ways to tackle each story. He also dives into how the cast came together to form the different alter egos we see in “Page-turner,” from Nick Torres’ (Wilmer Valderrama) transformation into an awkward sweetheart to Jessica Knight’s (Katrina Law) stint as a knife-throwing badass.

Sean Murray Reflects on His Two-Decade-Long Journey in ‘NCIS’

“I’ve never been bored doing this show.”

Image via CBS

COLLIDER: Obviously, NCIS is a very popular show, and you play the longest-running character there. What’s it like playing a character that’s evolved so much over two decades?

SEAN MURRAY: It’s funny because it has not gotten boring, and we’ve been doing it for 22-23 years. Something we always try to do with McGee, from the early days of McGee and the full rookie embodiment of all things rookie and probie, it was also important for the character to progress, always be progressing. I always joked with the writers. Early on, I said, “I don’t want McGee to be baby Maggie Simpson. I don’t want every week for the character to just revert to the same person, same age, never grow.” We’ve been really good about that. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never been bored doing this show. Besides the characters changing, the show is always changing a little bit and going in new directions; we’ve had different iterations of the cast. We’re here 22, 23 years later, and doing as good as we’ve ever done in terms of stories that we’re telling.

I’m incredibly proud to be a part of NCIS and have been so for this long. It’s an honor, and I also feel a little bit of an obligation there in terms of, “Well, if we’re gonna keep clicking away at this McGee character, we gotta do some new things, we gotta do some fun stuff.” Because if you didn’t, oh my God, 22-23 years of doing the same thing day in and day out – I can’t imagine how bored I would be. But I’ve been anything but bored. We’re really fortunate with the group of writers we have, with the actors that have come through this show. It’s pretty wild. I mean, come on. I’ve spent almost half of my life on this show. I’m very proud to be a part of it. It’s such a big part of my life and a big thing; it’s hard for me to verbalize it. I’m sure you kind of understand. I really do love our bunch a lot, and I love playing with their guys in front of the cameras and behind the cameras and all of that. I think we’re doing really well.

The fact that we’ve got this episode, “Page-turner,” that we’re talking about, that I’m here promoting. This is a very different episode for us. We’re seeing our people play these very different characters as these alter egos in McGee’s head. It was not only an interesting story, but it was really challenging and different to film. It was different for us, and I think it turned out pretty bloody good. That’s one of my Aussie leftovers, by the way. I say “bloody” all the time, and it confuses people. ‘Cause I grew up with my mother – bloody this, bloody that, bloody this. So bloody is part of my vernacular, and I think it always throws people to hear an American accent saying bloody, but I can’t help it.

Murray “Likes Whenever McGee Is Out of His Element” in ‘NCIS’

“We’ve got stuff coming up this year that’s really good.”

Image via CBS

Before I jump into the episode, though, I did want to touch on, because you were talking about how you guys keep everything new. Last season, there was that huge storyline with LaRoche and McGee’s potential promotion, but then this season has shifted away from that and gone into McGee’s other talents, like a lot of his tech stuff is coming back with MooseNet, which was hilarious, and being an author. So, after such an intense look at his professional development last season, what’s it like exploring these other facets of his character?

MURRAY: I love that stuff. I love anytime we get to see McGee outside of his norm, not quite in his element, in a new environment, which is what I think McGee is about. I think McGee is all about learning and bettering himself, and progressing. The difference between the McGee of Year 1 and here in Year 23 is night and day.

I love anytime we explore the different stuff, and similarly, I love anytime we get to explore seeing the other actors on the show come in and play these alter egos, these vastly different characters than what we’ve seen. To me, that’s fun. Sitting with Wilmer as he came up with Rick Sores and the way to do that, and his version of that, was a blast. It was so much fun because we all have such shorthand with each other; we know each other so well, so it’s cool to see each other challenged a little bit. Like, “Okay, we’re doing something different here. We’re not gonna be in the squad room talking about this. You’re gonna be wearing a Tomb Raider leather, scantily clad outfit,” as Jessica Knight is in the episode. We had so much fun. We had so much fun doing this show.

This particular episode was challenging because it’s very different for us. It’s really easy to just do the same thing all the time. We’re not trying to just rest on our laurels; we’re trying to push things forward and make it fun and make it interesting. Not only good for people that watch the show every week, but people that have been watching for two decades. We want them to see something new, something different. I really love this episode. I had a fun time with it. We’ve had the Thom E. Gemcity, McGee’s writing side, his writer alias; we’ve had those episodes before, the Thom E. Gemcity episodes. This was a new one, a totally new take on it, and a new way to revisit that a little bit. I like whenever McGee is out of his element. He may not like it, but I do.

I’ve always wanted a Freaky Friday episode for NCIS, and I feel like this is the closest way to do that.

MURRAY: I’m with you, and I have too. I have always wanted that episode too. When the idea for this was talked about and the script came out and everything, we were all really excited about this one and hoping that we could do it justice. And I think we did. I really enjoyed this episode. I’m proud of it, and I think all people will really like it. This year, we’ve had some really interesting stuff happening this year. Not to sound like that dork, like, “Oh, teasing this and that,” but we’ve got stuff coming up this year that’s really good. I’m not just saying that because I’m promoting an episode. It’s stuff I’m excited about, that we’re excited about, because it’s new and it’s different.

We’ve got a talented group of people. We’ve got, just in front of the cameras, Gary [Cole], Wilmer [Valderrama], Katrina, Brian [Dietzen], Rocky [Carroll], everyone. There’s this renewed feeling this year. There’s this energy. There’s this firing on all cylinders. We’re looking to not just get into the fun characters that we know, but do different stuff and always be constantly pushing it forward. I’m proud of this episode, I’m proud of us. If I’m not totally bored after 22 years, that’s gotta be a good sign, right? Hey, I’ve had jobs where 3 weeks into filming, you’re like, “Get me out of here.” This is a special place, a special thing that I get to be a part of. The grass is not greener, and I know that.

‘NCIS’ Season 23, Episode 6 Gives Us a Very Different Side to the Characters

“We can pretty much read each other’s minds almost when performing.”

Image via CBS

Out of those alter egos with Knight and Palmer and everyone, which alter ego was your favorite, or who surprised you with the certain archetype they embodied?

MURRAY: It’s funny because I had my moments with each one of them. Wilmer coming in as Rick Sores and him figuring that character out was excellent. Wilmer is such a good actor and performer. A lot of people don’t quite know how good he is sometimes. To see him embody this character that’s so opposite of the Torres character, it was just great. Katrina shows up, and she puts on the leather outfit, the dominatrix or Tomb Raider, superhero outfit that is great. They put her in that outfit, and they did the ponytail, and she’s like, “You know what, I feel like we throw a little bit of a skewed English accent on this character.” I think that if we were ever to do that, this would be the character to do that for. So, it was great. And Gary’s like a chameleon. Gary’s been in a million things, doing a million different kinds of characters over the year. So, to see him come in and do this sort of Sherlock Holmes with a bit of a Ducky twist on him, it was great. It was really fun.

Everyone came and showed that they were game to do it. It was just to have fun and kind of go for it. It was great. I remember sitting there with Wilmer talking about Sores. He based his character on something very specific, which unfortunately I can’t share with you, but it was a lot of fun coming up with those characters and figuring it out, because we all have a shorthand with each other. We all know each other so well. We can pretty much read each other’s minds almost when performing. For us to all be these different characters doing this different story in this different environment was a lot of fun, and watching everyone come in and do their thing one after another was fantastic. It was cool. I hope we get to do that stuff more, to be honest with you.

Me too. So, I have one question left. After two decades, what’s one piece of advice that current McGee would give probie McGee when he first started?

MURRAY: Pace yourself. Pace yourself. You gotta pace yourself. I think McGee would get so wrapped up in something that was going on, passionate about something. It’s kind of like doing a TV series. You gotta pace yourself. If you’re gonna be in there for the long run and make it go over a large amount of time, you gotta take a certain kind of perspective there. Don’t get so worked up about the little things, you know what I mean? I think we all need to be told that, right? I think McGee is just sort of an amalgamation of that – that we all have. Just need to be like, “OK, just relax, think about it, and figure it out. Be cool about it, we’re gonna work it out.” McGee is always learning, and that’s a big part of him and that character.