Below is a compiled list of the most interesting facts about Mark Harmon. Check it out!
Thomas Mark Harmon was born on September 2, 1951, in Burbank, California, to football player and broadcaster Tom Harmon and actress and artist Elyse Knox (née Kornbrath). Harmon played college football and found success as one of TV’s hunkiest actors. While many of his roles have relied on good looks, Harmon was impressive on St. Elsewhere (1982) as the suave doctor who contracted AIDS.
Interesting Facts about Mark Harmon
- When he was younger, he bore a strong resemblance to Ricky Nelson, which subsequently led him to be misidentified in newspapers as Nelson’s brother when they were actually only brothers-in-law.
- His favorite actors are Gary Cooper, Buster Keaton, and William S. Hart. The license plates on his 1956 Dodge pickup and 1984 Porsche read YUHP and UH-HUH-both common Gary Cooper sayings.
- Has a 1951 Woody that he and his dad restored.
- He loves dogs. He once had an Australian shepherd, a golden retriever, and a bearded collie.
- Mark studied American Sign Language for his various television roles with The Sign Company.
- He was cast as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service (2003) after series creator/producer Donald P. Bellisario saw his commanding performance as a Secret Service agent on The West Wing (1999).
- Bought his first car when he was 13: a 1928 Ford.
- Worked as a carpenter before he hit it big, foretelling the carpentry and wooden boat-building interest and skills of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the character he plays on NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service (2003).
- In 2011, he was voted the fourth-most-popular actor on prime-time television.
- First actor to play Ted Bundy.
- In his first UCLA game, Mark led the Bruins to a 20-17 underdog win over Nebraska, snapping the two-time defending national champion’s 32-game winning streak.
- Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of 6253 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 1, 2012.
Personal Quotes by Mark Harmon
I was raised with the idea of maximum effort: as long as you could look in the mirror and say, ‘I gave it everything I had,’ it was OK. But if you gave it less, that would disgrace you.
Mark Harmon
I’m not likely to be attracted to characters I’ve already done. I have to be almost frightened by the possibility of taking it on. Over the years, I realise I must enjoy walking that edge; I keep doing it.
Mark Harmon
When I was in acting classes early on, there were so many people in these classes who were doing great work, and you’d just look at them and say, ‘Wow, I hope to someday be like that.’ And yet these people never worked. You never saw them.
Mark Harmon
I like this job – most days I have a chance to make breakfast and take the kids to school or to read ’em a bedtime story. It’s almost like a normal life.
Mark Harmon
