The “Anti-Ego” Commander: The Legend of the “Gibbs Stare”

​There is a long-standing rumor that Mark Harmon ran the NCIS set like a military compound. As an Executive Producer, he was known for the “Gibbs Stare”—if a guest actor arrived late or was unprepared, Harmon would allegedly stare them down in total silence until they became visibly shaken.

​While this sounds like bullying, crew members from the 2026 “retrospective” reports claim it was actually a defense mechanism to protect the “blue-collar” crew. Harmon reportedly couldn’t stand “actors who thought they were better than the guys holding the lights.” He would often pull the “team captain” card, telling divas, “There are 200 people here who want to go home to their families; learn your lines or leave.”