Why Pauley Perrette Won’t Return to Acting

Pauley Perrette, best known for her role as Abby Sciuto on NCIS, confirmed that her retirement from acting is permanent, six years after leaving the show. In a recent interview with Hello!, she expressed gratitude for her acting career but emphasized that she has changed and now seeks to embrace her true self, both in good times and bad.

After departing from NCIS, Perrette starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom Broke, where she played a single mother helping her financially struggling relatives. The show aired from April to June 2020 before being canceled, leading Perrette to officially retire from acting. Since then, she has focused on producing documentaries, including Studio One Forever, which explores the history of a famous L.A. disco.

Perrette explained her desire for authenticity in her life, noting that acting once provided an escape from her own struggles. She described her former role as a form of addiction, allowing her to become someone else without facing her own issues. Now, she prefers watching documentaries to seek the truth, feeling that returning to acting would detract from her commitment to living authentically.

Her portrayal of Abby Sciuto, the vibrant forensic scientist on NCIS from its start in 2003 until 2018, made her one of the most beloved women on primetime television. Fans were surprised by her departure, especially after she made cryptic remarks about "multiple physical assaults" on set. CBS acknowledged that they took her workplace concerns seriously and worked with her to find a resolution.

Later, Perrette expressed her frustration about being asked if she would return to NCIS, stating emphatically that she would not, while revealing that her co-star Mark Harmon was a source of her anxiety. She described being terrified of him and having nightmares regarding their interactions.

In an oral history of NCIS conducted by The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson mentioned an incident involving Harmon’s dog biting a crew member, which contributed to Perrette’s discomfort on set. She felt unsafe with the dog around, and ultimately decided it was time to leave the show.

Harmon has not publicly addressed the situation, and his representatives have not commented. He left NCIS in 2021 but remains involved with the upcoming prequel series, NCIS: Origins.