Mark Harmon was alreadyan acting veteranbefore he was cast as special agent Jethro Leroy Gibbs in “NCIS.”
A very young Mark appeared in a television commercial alongside his late father Tom Harmon in the 1970s.
Like Mark, Tom was also a fairly famous and familiar face back in his time.
The elder Harmon gained his celebrity by playing football for the Los Angeles Rams for a couple of seasons.
According to Mark, his father had another lucrative side hustle as a spokesman for Kellogg’s cereal.
Looking back on his first unofficial acting role, Mark admitted to being pretty embarrassed by the commercial.
For a while, it seemed Mark might follow in his father Tom Harmon’s footsteps.
Mark was an avid football player, having played for the Bruins at UCLA in his young adult years.
“I tried to do that, but I just couldn’t get hired.
I enjoyed getting up and doing that in the morning; I enjoyed the drive to work.
For me it was about materials and doing right,” Mark said in an interview withMen’s Journal.
“Even after all these years, however, Mark hasn’t left his passion for craftsmanship behind.
Nowadays, it seems it’s become more of a hobby for the “Freaky Friday” star.
“I still enjoy [carpentry],” he said.
