Mark Harmon is an American film and television actor, who has such famous films as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "Freaky Friday", "First Daughter". His most famous television work is the series "NCIS: Special Department", in which he played the main role.
Early years
The biography of Mark Harmon began in 1951 in the city of Burbank (California). His mother was the famous actress and artist Alice Knox, and his father was professional American football player Tom Harmon. In addition to Mark, the family had two more children - Christine and Kelly. Kristin made a career as an artist, and Kelly worked as an actress and model for a long time.
After graduating from high school, the young man entered the University of California, where he was the quarterback of the football team. After college, Mark Harmon planned to make a career in advertising. He began to work as a merchandiser, but soon realized that this occupation was not for him. Therefore, I decided to try myself as an actor.
First roles
Harmon first appeared on the screen in 1975, playing in one of the episodes of the series "Critical Case". This was followed by another supporting role in the police series "Adam-12".
Mark Harmon made his feature film debut in 1978. We are talking about the western Alan Pakula "The horseman is coming." The actor played the small role of Billy Joe Menert. Harmon's partners in the frame were Jane Fonda, James Caan, Jim Davis. The picture was commercially successful for its time. Box office grossed $44 million.
The following year, the actor was cast as Larry Simpson in the disaster film Prisoners of Poseidon. The film was directed by Irwin Allen, who worked a lot in this genre. The project "Prisoners of Poseidon" did not have such a success when compared with the previous films of the director. The painting was not awarded major awards.
Movie career
In the 80s and 90s, the actor acted in films a lot, but mostly came across supporting roles. The most famous films of Mark Harmon in that period are the western Wyatt Earp, in which he played along with Kevin Costner, the drama Signs of Remorse, the comedy The Last Supper. In 1998, he played a supporting role in the drama Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Terry Gilliam. The director chose a strong cast for the film. The main roles went to Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro. The film was critically acclaimed, but was commerciallyunsuccessful.
One of Harmon's most famous film works is the role of Ryan in the fantastic comedy Freaky Friday, based on the book of the same name by Mae Rogers. His co-stars were Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film became a box office hit, grossing $160 million on a modest $20 million budget. The film also received only positive reviews from film critics.
Another noteworthy project with the actor is the teen comedy "First Daughter", in which he played President James Foster.
TV career
The first permanent work in the television series for Mark Harmon was the role of Dwayne in the crime drama "240-Roberts". The series had a total of 16 episodes, of which Harmon acted in 13.
From 1983 to 1986 the actor regularly appeared in the medical series "St. Elsware", on which he worked with Denzel Washington. This picture was popular in the USA and won many prestigious film awards, including several Emmy awards. From 1991 to 1993 Harmon appeared in the crime drama "Reasonable Doubt".
The most famous work in the television filmography of Mark Harmon - the television series "NCIS: Special Forces", in which he played the role of agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. His character has appeared in all fourteen seasons of the series. For this role, the actor was awarded the "People's Choice Awards". The series was watched by more than 20 million viewers worldwide, making it one of theone of the most successful projects in the history of American television.
Private life
Before resounding success in the film industry, Harmon worked as a carpenter. These skills were very useful to him while working on the NCIS series, as his character liked to make wooden boats in his spare time.
In 1987, Mark Harmon married actress Pam Dawber. The couple had children Sean Thomas Harmon and Christian Harmon. The eldest son followed in the footsteps of his parents. Already, the young man is actively showing himself in the acting field. Many film critics noticed the boy's talent.
