Five Fast Facts About NCIS Star Rocky Carroll

Rocky Carroll has been on the popular network show NCIS since Season 6, playing Director Leon Vance. He became a series regular after the original director, Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly), was killed at the end of Season 5.

Along with NCIS, Carroll has been on a number of popular television shows, including Roc, Boston Legal, The West Wing, Law & Order, and many others. Learn all about Rocky Carroll’s first film and the actor he went to high school with these five fast facts!

Stage Star
Before pursuing his television and movie career, Carroll was a very successful stage actor. In fact, he was nominated for a Tony Award in 1990 for his performance in the August Wilson play, The Piano Lesson.

SJP Connection
Carroll was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati along with fellow actor Sarah Jessica Parker. He graduated in 1981.

Harmon History
Carroll and Mark Harmon (Gibbs) of course star together in NCIS, but they were also on another show together. The pair played doctors on Chicago Hope, a medical drama that aired on CBS from 1994 to 2000. But they weren’t the only NCIS stars to do so — Lauren Holly also played a doctor on the show whose character briefly dated Harmon’s,

First Feature
While most actors have to wait a long time before starring in an Oscar-nominated film, Carroll got lucky right off the bat. Believe it or not, his first ever feature was in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, which won two Oscars.

Getting Personal
The handsome actor has been married to Gabrielle Bullock since 1996 and they have one daughter, Elissa. He plays the trumpet. While he loves acting on NCIS, Carroll has also directed seven episodes of the show.