NCIS Sean Murray on What Playing Timothy McGee Means to Him

It’s hard to imagine NCIS without Sean Murray. First introduced in Season 1 as Timothy McGee in a recurring role, he quickly became a fan favorite. By Season 2, he’d secured a full-time spot alongside series lead Mark Harmon—and he’s been a fixture of the team ever since.

Now, with hundreds of episodes behind him, Murray has opened up about what playing McGee means to him and why he believes NCIS has remained a TV powerhouse for nearly two decades.

It’s Not Just About the Case

According to Murray, the show’s lasting appeal doesn’t come from the crimes—it comes from the people solving them.

While many procedurals focus strictly on the “case of the week,” he believes NCIS stands out by flipping that formula.

“I think one of the things that we focused on early on was the characters and the relationships between them, the dynamics and all that,” Murray explained. “The cases become a bit secondary—not as important as how the characters interact with each other. I think that's something that has resonated with people.”

Fans don’t just tune in to see who did it—they tune in to see how this unlikely family of agents handles it together.

Keeping It Fresh After 400+ Episodes

With such a massive run, the characters have had time to grow into distinct, layered individuals. The show has undergone huge changes since its 2003 premiere, and Murray is now one of the few remaining faces from those early years.

Rather than draining the show, he says the rotating cast and evolving shooting styles have helped keep things alive and interesting.

Change, he explains, stops everyone from getting “lazy or complacent.” Even after 17 years, Murray insists no one on set is phoning it in—the goal is always to deliver the best episode possible.

Becoming Timothy McGee

After playing McGee for so long, does it ever get boring? Not for Sean Murray.

He admits that after all these years, stepping into McGee almost feels second nature—but the character is still evolving, and that keeps it exciting.

“I'm at a point where I can turn on and off to play McGee, because he evolves as the series evolves,” he said. “You have the idea and plot for the character; for me, it's about feeling it out and finding my way through it.”

McGee has grown from a nervous rookie to a confident senior agent, and Murray has grown right along with him.

The Gibbs Connection: On-Screen and Off

Season 18 gave fans one of the most shocking McGee moments yet, with the opening sequence where Gibbs shoots him to stop him from rushing a plane. Murray teased that things were about to get “really interesting,” especially when it came to the shift in the Gibbs–McGee dynamic.

That mentor–student relationship doesn’t just exist on screen.

Murray actually worked with Mark Harmon long before NCIS, back when he was just 15 years old on the 90s western Harts of the West.

“He made a huge impression on me when he came in and did a part in Harts of the West,” Murray recalled.

Even then, Harmon was already well known from St. Elsewhere, and Murray remembers those early conversations about acting and craft.

“I had a few scenes with him and we talked a lot about craft... So to be able to work with him again during the years that followed was amazing,” he said. “And, you know, he's been a mentor to me, whether he knows it or not.”

With that kind of real history between them, it’s no surprise their chemistry as Gibbs and McGee feels so authentic.

The Heart of NCIS

As NCIS continues into new seasons, Sean Murray and Timothy McGee remain at the emotional core of the series. The show may be about solving crimes—but it’s the relationships, especially those built over decades like McGee and Gibbs, that keep fans coming back.

For Murray, it’s clear: he’s not just playing a character. He’s grown up with McGee, and that long, shared journey is a big part of why NCIS is still going strong.