Copyright Parade
One thing that NCIS: Origins has been excellent at accomplishing is staying true to the history of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ past, and tonight, they continue the trend with a story that reunites the young Gibbs (Austin Stowell) with Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard at NIS headquarters at Camp Pendleton, CA. And even better, they were able to once again obtain the services of Adam Campbell, who played young Ducky on several episodes of NCIS, to revisit the role. “I knew there was a possibility that the Ducky character would enter NCIS: Origins,” Campbell tells Parade. “But I was equally aware that this was an opportunity for them to maybe find somebody else to play it, so I was half expecting that to be the case. I was really, really touched, and I suppose also a little bit relieved when I got the phone call to play Ducky again. Not only because it’s just brilliant to be part of it, but also, I love the character. It is a brilliant role to play. It’s a real gift.” 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 What makes it a gift for viewers as well is that Campbell actually met David McCallum, who originated the role on NCIS, and got sage advice from the master himself at lunch on the NCIS set in Valencia at the invitation of McCallum. “Somehow David got my number and phoned me and said, ‘I hear you’re playing younger Ducky, let’s have lunch together,’” Campbell recalls. “And so, the next day, I drove up to the set and we had a long, long lunch, and he showed me around the sets and introduced me to absolutely everybody. We talked for a long time about how he sees the character, how he thinks, he gave me some pointers basically, some non-negotiables on who he thinks Ducky is.” Even as McCallum gave Campbell those helpful pointers on what he thought made Ducky tick, he also encouraged him to find his own way of playing the role, and Campbell did that, but he also took one piece of McCallum’s advice to heart. Related: Here’s How David McCallum’s Role as Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard Will Be Honored in the NCIS: Origins Prequel “One thing that he was at pains to point out was that Ducky does like to find the lighter side of things, don’t be afraid to find the comedy in it,” Campbell shares. “It’s not like he’s making light of a tragic situation, but the way that he handles these things in many cases is with a bit of levity, and so David encouraged me in that.” Campbell did study episodes of NCIS to get his own take on how he wanted to approach the role. And one thing he noticed about the character and the actor was they had a sense of period that Campbell didn’t, coming from a different generation. “He was born in the ‘40s, he grew up in the private school system in England when things were very, very different,” he explains. “One thing I wanted to dig up was just that sense of period that David brought to the role. And so, I spent a fair amount of time watching interviews with British Army officers as they were being selected, and there was this, it sounds cliché to say stiff upper lip, but there was definitely a different way that these guys held themselves in the ‘70s and ‘80s that I don’t think I naturally have. So, it was cool to investigate that a little bit, to bring that to the role.” Related: Wilmer Valderrama and Austin Stowell Tease Upcoming ‘Clever’ NCIS and Origins Crossover (Exclusive) In the 1960s, McCallum, a classically trained musician, recorded four instrumental albums. His best-known song today is “The Edge,” which appears on the soundtracks to the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV and in the 2017 film Baby Driver. It will also appear in tonight’s episode of NCIS: Origins, also titled “The Edge,” as another means of honoring the late actor/musician. “Until a couple of days before the table read, I had no idea that piece of music, which is so iconic in pop culture now, was written by David McCallum,” Campbell says. “So, all it does is just convince me that David might be one of the most talented people that ever existed, to have that much skill. To be able to write that sort of music and also be the actor that he was.”
