Why NCIS Star Will ‘Never Again’ Return to Acting
Movieguide® Contributor
Sorry, Pauley Perrette fans. The actress, who played Abby Sciuto for 15 seasons on NCIS, says she’ll “never” return to acting again.
“I’m not ungrateful for the benefits that it gave to me,” she said. “But I’m a different person now and I want to be here for it — the good and the bad and the painful.”
Perrette started out in shows like DAWSON’S CREEK, JESSE and FRASIER. She joined NCIS in 2003.
“I want to be me all the time,” she said. “And it takes a good amount of courage for me to say that to myself, but it’s authentically how I feel.”
She turned away from acting because she was consumed with becoming fictional characters.
“What you’re looking for with substance abuse is escape. But with acting, you can escape into 1,000 different things without almost killing yourself doing it,” she said previously.
“At this point in my life I have this deep need to find authenticity in everything, and being an actor, especially at certain points in my life, was a great escape; it’s like a drug because I didn’t have to be me, I could be somebody else. My character didn’t have all of the problems that I was having.”
“It’s why I only watch documentaries, I want the truth. For me, going back to being an actor would be taking away from this life of true authenticity that I’m living 100% of the time,” she said.
Though she doesn’t want to perform anymore, that doesn’t mean she’s stepped out of the entertainment industry. Last year, she produced a documentary called STUDIO ONE FOREVER.
Perrette left NCIS in 2015. Days after her final episode aired, she implied she left the show due to “multiple physical assaults.”
She later wrote on Twitter:
“NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it.
I have a new show that is SAFE AND HAPPY! You’ll love it!
#HappyPlace Love y’all!”
“There were reports that she [and Mark Harmon] clashed on set because of a dog bite, but that has never been confirmed,” Fox News said.
Perrette told CBS about concerns on set and the company investigated, which Perrette expressed appreciation for later.
Movieguide® reported on the actress in 2022:
Actress Pauley Perrette, best known for her role as Abby Sciuto on the hit series NCIS, recently shared a health update with her fans one year after her “massive stroke.”
“One year ago I had a massive stroke,” the actress wrote in a Twitter post. “Before that I lost so many beloved family and friends, And daddy And then Cousin Wayne Yet still a survivor after this traumatic life I’ve been given so far… And still so grateful, Still so full of faith, And STILL HERE!”