‘NCIS’ Spotlights Jamie Lee Curtis’ Forgotten Guest Role


Jamie Lee Curtis is best known for being a silver screen A-Lister with a new Oscar on her mantle, but she once dabbled in the TV world as an NCIS agent.

Curtis won her Academy Award this year thanks to her supporting role in Everything Everywhere all at Once. It was both her first nomination and win after more than 40 years in Hollywood, and when she joined the elite group of actors who have been honored with an Oscar, NCIS took a minute to spotlight her short tenure on the show.

On TikTok, the series shared a clip of Curtis showing off her acting chops with Mark Harmon’s Agent Gibbs and captioned, “Before she was taking the #Oscars stage, #JamieLeeCurtis was Dr. Samantha Ryan on #NCIS! #NCISverse.”

Jamie Lee Curtis starred in five episodes of Season 9, which aired in 2012. Her character was the head of the DOD PsyOps Division, and she was in a relationship with Gibbs.

Curtis’ arch came into play when Harper Dearing, a terrorist, targeted her son. Gibbs stepped in to help, and he successfully kept the boy away from Dearing. Ryan and her son eventually ended up getting out of town safely, and it was just in time. Right as she left, Dearing managed to break through the NCIS watchdogs and put a pipe bomb in Director Vance’s car.

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The explosion ended up serving as the Season 9 finale cliffhanger, and the episode also ended up being Curtis’ final appearance.

Jamie Lee Curtis Calls Her ‘NCIS’ Run an ‘Unexpected Delight’

Despite the NCIS writers giving Jamie Lee Curtis an opening to reprise her character, she hasn’t mentioned making a return. But she has made it clear that she enjoyed her time with the cast and crew.

When Mark Harmon announced his exit in 2021, Curtis penned a long social media post detailing her respect for him, and she briefly detailed why the role was an “unexpected delight.”

“I just read that my friend, Mark Harmon is leaving his leadership position @ncis_cbs,” she wrote on Instagram. “One of the unexpected delights of my varied career was being able to do five episodes opposite him and his team in front of and behind the camera. My favorite line was when I was coming down from his bedroom, ‘Practice makes perfect.’ Certainly worked for him and his Jethro Gibbs character. Well done Harmon. Gary would be/is so proud!”

You can watch all of Jamie Lee Curtis’ NCIS episodes on Paramount+ now.

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