Mark Harmon Made His TV Debut in a Kellogg's Cereal Commercial with His Father, NFL Player Tom Harmon

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Mark Harmonwasn’t originally too fond of his acting debut.

The actor, 73, recently joinedKelly RipaandMark ConsuelosforLive with Kelly and MarkinPalm Springson Wednesday, Nov. 13. During their conversation, he told the daytime talk show hosts that his first role was actually beside his father, football and broadcasting icon Tom Harmon.

TheNCISstar explained that his father was a Kellogg’s spokesperson and he was asked to join him in a commercial for one of its products, specifically Product 19 cereal.

“I was in a commercial in the backyard eating cereal, which, that never happened,” he joked with Ripa, 54, and Consuelos, 53. Harmon confirmed he had just started high school at that point.

“So I’m picturing my own kids. Would that be embarrassing for you —” Ripa began before the Emmy nominee immediately interjected, confirming that it was “humiliating.”

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While people did not start to recognize him, the commercial “did change [his] direction a little bit,” Harmon said. “I think I saw something, that crew, those people around, that I understood.”

Consuelos chimed in and said, “Also, the paycheck is nice. Did you get paid for that commercial?"

“My dad did. I think,” Harmon said, laughing. “I think they have laws against that now,” Consuelos added, and Harmon retorted, “Not then!”

Since that first commercial, Harmon has gone on to star in several projects, fromFreaky FridaytoMoonlightingandSt. Elsewhere, but he stuck with hisNCIScharacter, special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, for nearly two decades.

Harmon starred in the military police procedural for 19 seasons until his departure in 2021. Since its premiere in 2003, the series has spawned five spinoffs:NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: Hawaiʻi, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: SydneyandNCIS: Origins.

Harmon serves as a narrator and executive producer onNCIS: Origins, which chronicles his character’s beginnings in the military agency. The show airs on CBS Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. Along with lending his voice to the CBS series, Harmon recently authored a book,Ghosts of Panama: A Strongman Out of Control, A Murdered Marine, and the Special Agents Caught in the Middle of an Invasion, which hits bookshelves on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Mark Harmon on “Live with Kelly and Mark”.ABC

ABC

Harmon previously revealed the secret to his successin a conversation with PEOPLE in 2019, and credited it to his late father’s advice.

“My dad taught me, if it’s not true, don’t worry about it,” theNCISstar said of his father, who died in 1990 at age 70. “I come from working stock, and I’m proud of that. You have to get up every day and just try hard”

At the time, Harmon explained that although his father had died nearly three decades before, he continued implementing his father’s advice.

source: people.com