15 Major Movie Stars Who Appeared On NCIS

A show can't succeed based on exciting guest stars alone, but gosh, they sure are fun. Fans of "NCIS" have been tuning in every week for the last 20 years to watch their favorite characters solve crimes, and new faces add some excitement to the show's tried-and-true formula. As in other long-running procedurals such as "Law & Order: SVU," "NCIS" has provided ample opportunity for movie stars to dip their toes into television, whether at the beginning of their careers or in later years.

Many big names have graced the hallowed halls of the Washington Navy Yard since "NCIS" premiered on CBS in 2003. From Disney stars to horror icons to independent film legends, the "NCIS" casting directors have gathered an impressive roster of accomplished actors on their Rolodex.

Zac Efron appeared on "NCIS" at a very auspicious time in his career. Efron was featured in a Season 3 episode called "Deception," which aired in January of 2006. He plays Danny, a teenager questioned about his involvement in the disappearance of a Naval officer. Danny has a major thing for Ziva (Cote de Pablo) and compares her to Salma Hayek. Just three days after that episode aired, the first "High School Musical" movie premiered on the Disney Channel, catapulting Efron into teen superstardom.

Speaking with the Hollywood Reporter in 2012, "NCIS" star Michael Weatherly recalled working with Efron back in the day. "He was telling us about this 'High School Musical' thing he did for Disney. We were like, 'Oh, isn't that cute?'" Evidently, "High School Musical" was more than just "cute," spawning two sequels, one spin-off movie, massively popular soundtracks, and a TV adaptation starring Olivia Rodrigo. Efron went on to have a successful career after that brief guest spot in "NCIS," starring in films like "Hairspray" (2007), "Baywatch," and more recently, the critically acclaimed "The Iron Claw."

In 2006, following a guest spot on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," eventual Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons appeared in a Season 3 episode of "NCIS" alongside his fellow future star Zac Efron. Plemons' character, Jason, and Efron's character, Daniel, are brought in for questioning in connection with the disappearance of a Naval officer. 

A month later, Plemons appeared on TV again in an episode of "Grey's Anatomy." "Friday Night Lights," his first ongoing role in a major TV series, premiered that fall. As readers are likely aware, Plemons' career went on to include an extremely terrifying character in the final season of "Breaking Bad," and parts in films like Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" and Yorgos Lanthimos' "Bugonia," among numerous others.

Lily Tomlin is one of the most acclaimed comedians of her generation, and her appearance on "NCIS" was a delightful surprise. On TV, she's best known for Netflix's "Grace and Frankie," in which she starred alongside longtime friend and collaborator Jane Fonda.

In 2011, Tomlin brought her talents to "NCIS," playing McGee's (Sean Murray) grandmother in a Season 9 episode called "The Penelope Papers." Her character, Penny, is a hippie with a mind for math and science. McGee is forced to work with her when he discovers her involvement in the death of a Naval Reserve lieutenant. Speaking with TVLine, Tomlin explained, "She was an admiral's wife for many decades, and she's the mother of McGee's father... It was a really good part, and I was really delighted to get it." As for her experience working with Murray, Tomlin described him as "so darling, he kills me!"

Glen Powell has become a massive star in the last few years, but before he was taking to the skies with Tom Cruise, he cut his teeth on the small screen. Like many working actors, Powell dabbled in television early in his career, appearing in shows like "Without a Trace," "CSI: Miami," and "Rizzoli & Isles." He also snagged a role in "NCIS," playing Evan Westcott in a two-part Season 10 episode called "Shell Shock." The NCIS team investigates Evan's brother Joe (Brad Beyer), who may have witnessed a brutal murder.

Speaking with Vanity Fair, Powell discussed the importance of TV gigs in an actor's career. "The business no longer supports struggling actors the way it did when I was kind of coming up," Powell shared. "I would do an episode of 'NCIS,' and that would keep me afloat for a year. You know what I mean?"

Even if you don't know the name Billy Dee Williams, you've almost certainly seen his face. He's appeared in films such as "Nighthawks" and 1989's "Batman," but his best-known role is the charming Lando Calrissian in the "Star Wars" series. 

His more than 100 screen appearances include television guest spots on "Scrubs," "That '70s Show," "The Jeffersons," "General Hospital" and "Lost," to name a few. He also appeared in two episodes of "NCIS" in Seasons 10 and 11. Williams plays Leroy Jethro Moore, the namesake of "NCIS" leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Moore was Gibbs' father's best friend, but the two had a falling out. Gibbs happens upon Moore's Medal of Honor in a pawn shop, and the two reconnect. Williams returned to "NCIS" in Season 11, attending the funeral of Gibbs' father.

Speaking with Zap2It, Williams explained what a positive experience working on "NCIS" was. "I must say, this is one of the highlights. I really mean that. Working with these people was certainly a highlight of my life in this business," he shared.

The daughter of seminal scream queen Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis was one of Hollywood's first final girls thanks to her role in 1978's "Halloween." More recently, she won an Oscar for her performance in "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and an Emmy for her role in FX's "The Bear."

In between these many successful projects, Curtis also found time to appear in five episodes of "NCIS" in 2012. She plays Dr. Samantha Ryan, who heads the Department of Defense's PsyOps Division. She has an initially contentious relationship with the NCIS team and is hesitant to share information, but she and Gibbs develop a flirtatious rapport and later begin a casual relationship.

Curtis and Harmon previously shared the screen in the 2003 film "Freaky Friday," in which Harmon plays her fiancé, and they appeared together once more in the sequel, "Freakier Friday." Following the announcement of Harmon's departure from "NCIS," Curtis shared a sweet message 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," she wrote.

Sean Astin found success early in Hollywood, as one of his earliest roles was in the classic '80s adventure film "The Goonies." About a decade and a half later, he played Samwise Gamgee in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He's done a considerable amount of work in television as well, including a season-long arc on "Stranger Things."

Astin joined the world of "NCIS" in 2012, appearing in an episode alongside fellow guest star Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis' Samantha Ryan butts heads with Tony (Weatherly), and brings in Astin's character, Tyler Elliott, to assist with the investigation. "I've been a big fan of Sean's for years, and this is a part we literally tailored for him," executive producer Gary Glasberg said of Astin's appearance on the show (via Entertainment Weekly).

For his part, Astin was thrilled to get the opportunity to join the "NCIS" family, albeit briefly. "Being able to step in and participate with them, it makes you feel a little less like a free agent for a minute. It makes you feel like you're a part of something," Astin told Entertainment Weekly.

One of the most successful child stars of her generation, Abigail Breslin's first decade in Hollywood includes films such as "Little Miss Sunshine," "Definitely, Maybe," "Zombieland," and "Signs." Her first starring TV role was in Ryan Murphy's "Scream Queens" (alongside "NCIS" alum Glen Powell), but that was far from her only foray into the medium.

Like many young actors, Breslin appeared in an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in 2004. That same year, she showed up in the Season 2 premiere of "NCIS." Breslin plays 8-year-old Sandy Watson, a gifted piano player and the daughter of a Navy captain (David Keith). Her father is involved in some shady business, and Sandy and her mother get kidnapped. The agents save the day, of course.

Daphne Zuniga starred in quite a few films in the 1980s, including the 1988 thriller "Last Rites," the only theatrically released film directed by "NCIS" creator Donald P. Bellisario. Zuniga is best known for her starring role in the classic parody film "Spaceballs."

In television, Zuniga had recurring roles on both "Melrose Place" and "One Tree Hill." She appeared on "NCIS" in 2020 in a Season 17 episode called "Lonely Hearts." She played Stacy Gordon, a smooth-talking JAG lawyer who meets a Navy captain on a dating app shortly before he's murdered. When the team discovers a second dead man whom Stacy was also dating, she becomes suspect number one.

Gena Rowlands was a film legend who championed bold, independent filmmaking. Best known for her collaborations with filmmaker husband John Cassavetes in films such as "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Opening Night," Rowlands appeared in dozens of television series in the 1950s through the 1970s.

Her final TV appearance was on a pivotal Season 7 episode of "NCIS." In "Mother's Day," she plays Joann Fielding, Gibbs' former mother-in-law. The case centers on the death of a Navy captain who was involved in the murder of Gibbs' wife and daughter. Joann and Gibbs exchange secrets about their revenge-fueled responses to those murders, and Gibbs is reluctant to go after the captain's killer. Rowlands, a three-time Emmy winner, died in 2024 at the age of 94, after living with Alzheimer's for several years.

Robert Wagner is a Hollywood veteran who has been in the industry for the last seven decades. He played the eyepatch-wearing Number 2 in the "Austin Powers" movies and appeared in films like "The Pink Panther" and "Towering Inferno." No stranger to TV, Wagner starred in "It Takes a Thief" and "Hart to Hart."

Denizens of the 21st century may know Wagner for his recurring work on "Two and a Half Men" and "NCIS." Wagner appeared in 13 episodes of "NCIS," playing Anthony DiNozzo Sr., Tony's father. Tony has a complicated relationship with his father and is often frustrated with him, but the casting couldn't be better. In fact, the producers of "NCIS" aren't the first casting directors to make a connection between the two actors. Michael Weatherly played Robert Wagner in the made-for-TV film "The Mystery of Natalie Wood" directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

Though Jon Cryer is best known for his starring role in "Two and a Half Men," he was more of a movie guy in the 1980s and 1990s. He got his big break starring opposite Molly Ringwald in "Pretty in Pink," and later appeared in films like "Hiding Out," "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," and "Hot Shots!"

Cryer has been a fan of "NCIS" since the very beginning. He told Entertainment Weekly that "Two and a Half Men" and "NCIS" started the same year, and he's loved the show ever since. In fact, he was such a fan that he'd always dreamed of playing a murder victim on "NCIS," or, as he put it, "dead on a slab in Ducky's lab." The "NCIS" bosses were made aware of Cryer's desire to be on the show, but they gave him a little more to do than lie naked in the morgue. Cryer appears in three episodes of "NCIS" as Cyril Taft, an accomplished Navy surgeon. Taft plays an important part in the Season 13 premiere, saving Gibbs' life after he's shot in the Season 12 finale.

Before he became a bona fide star, Sterling K. Brown was already a TV veteran. Brown appeared in numerous TV shows in the 2000s and 2010s, including "ER," "Third Watch," "Boston Legal," "Alias," "Without a Trace," "Criminal Minds," Medium," "Person of Interest," and a longer stint on "Army Wives." He broke away from the crowd in 2016 thanks to his role in "This Is Us," and went on to star in films like "American Fiction" (for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and "Hotel Artemis."

In 2013, Brown appeared in an episode of "NCIS" playing Elijah Banner. It was a rare villainous turn for Brown, and he remembers the experience fondly. Speaking with People, he recalled how welcoming Mark Harmon was, inviting him to have lunch with the cast when he was eating alone. Harmon also reportedly left Brown with an inspiring kernel of wisdom, telling him, "There's nothing wrong with loving what you do."

You may know Lance Henriksen as Bishop in "Aliens" or from his roles in "The Terminator" and "Scream 3." On TV, he's best known as Frank Black on the in-need-of-a-remake "X-Files" spin-off "Millennium." On the smaller scale, Henriksen's resume is littered with TV guest spots on shows like "Cagney & Lacey," "Castle," "Hannibal," "Grey's Anatomy," and an episode of "Criminal Minds" co-written by Kirsten Vangsness. 

In 2009, he showed up in a Season 6 episode of "NCIS" titled "South by Southwest." The episode turns into a bit of Western, as Gibbs and Tony head to Arizona to work on a case and ride horses like a couple of cowboys. Henriksen plays a local sheriff who teams up with NCIS.

Speaking with Premium Hollywood, Henriksen revealed that he normally doesn't like doing guest spots on TV because "you were just there to make the leads in the show look good, and you couldn't really do any acting." However, he agreed to appear on "NCIS" because the episode's director, Tom Wright, worked on "Millennium," and assured him the team would be welcoming. "We were laughing and doing good work, and it really was a fun show to do," Henriksen confirmed. 

To many people, Christopher Lloyd will always be Doc, the zany scientist in the "Back to the Future" trilogy. But Lloyd has enjoyed a long and varied career outside of those films, including his big break in the late '70s series "Taxi." He's also appeared in films like "Clue," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," and "The Addams Family."

In 2020, Lloyd touched down in the Washington Navy Yard to guest star in an episode of "NCIS." Entitled "The Arizona," the final episode of Season 17 centers on Joe Smith (Lloyd), a WWII veteran. Joe claims to have fought during Pearl Harbor, but the inconsistencies in his story have the NCIS team — apart from Gibbs — doubting the veracity of his claims. The episode is a great showcase of Lloyd's talent as he has to pull off a tricky balancing act of being both trustworthy and suspicious. It's a great episode for Gibbs, too, as he opens up about what sacrifice and duty mean to him.