gary cole

You’re known mainly as a comedy guy. Is there some sort of basic training program to topline a procedural drama like NCIS?

GC: Honestly, it’s called being a working actor for 40 years. There’s no difference between comedy and drama for me. If you’re unprepared in either or try too hard in either, you’re done.

Whatever character I’m playing, it’s always the same: You find a hook that brings you into the world you’re creating, you get comfortable, and hope people connect.

What’s your hook with NCIS Special Agent Parker?

GC: He’s trying to fit in. He’s trying to prove himself. He’s a problem solver. I can relate to all that in this situation.

What’s nice is the producers and writers go out of their way to personalize the character for you. There’s a kind of NCIS character bible, and they try to match some of my traits and backstory with Parker’s. Oh, you’re from Chicago? Great. Next thing I know, Parker’s from Chicago, too. You can really lean into those details for consistency and comfort.

Were you a fan of the show before joining the cast?

GC: NCIS is a pretty hard show to miss. It’s always on somewhere. So I watched it whenever I caught it. But you get immersed quickly in an environment like this.

You’ve got people on the crew who’ve been with the show since day one in 2003, and not only NCIS but JAG before that. When you’re surrounded by that kind of institutional knowledge, somebody’s always got an answer if you need something.

Procedurals are famous for rapid-fire dialogue with loads of lingo. Any trouble remembering you have to give a SitRep to the SecNav?

GC: The trick isn’t memorization as much as staying human with it. You’re carrying an enormous amount of exposition, with facts and clues and shifting details. You try to incorporate these mouthfuls into real behavior so you’re not sounding like a robot reciting a crawl that’s running along the bottom of the screen.

I take pride in making Parker sound like he knows what he’s talking about while also behaving, you know, normally. It can be a challenge, especially when we’re in the squad room and there are four people hammering out complicated dialogue. But it works. There’s a reason the show’s been going for 19 years.

Is it true one of your first roles involved being chased by another legend of procedurals, William Petersen?

GC: Yes! This was many, many years before he did CSI, when I had a tiny part in To Live and Die in L.A. I don’t recall if my character lived or died in the movie, but I remember almost dying from how much running I had to do that day.

Was that before or after you were an extra in “The Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfeld?

GC: Well, it would have been before, but that’s one of those ridiculous internet myths. I think there’s a guy who looks a little like me in one of the scenes, but unless I blacked out, I was never anywhere near the Seinfeld set for that episode. Once the internet hits on something, it sticks.

So maybe we can set the record straight: I will admit I did make an appearance on an old soap opera called One Life to Live. I think technically it was the first time I was on camera. I played an ex-convict who had information about one of the lead characters. But I think that footage has been lost to history.

Office Space still connects with audiences more than 20 years after its release. Any thoughts on how that movie would be different in the COVID-19 era?

GC: They’d all be on Zoom now, I imagine. So it would look more like a Very Brady Office Space, you might say. Those Bradys were decades ahead of their time with the faces-on-the-screen thing.

By the way, who’s the dog in these photos with you?

GC: Oh, that’s Shadow. He’s a toy Australian shepherd. Although he’s pretty chill now, it took a long time for him to settle down. Those dogs are very, very intelligent and need a task at all times. Australian shepherds are smarter than some people I’ve met.

Other dogs stare at you with this vacant look that says, “Where’s the food?” But with Shadow, you know he’s aware of everything in the room. If I do this, I’ll get my food. If I do that, they’ll let me outside. You almost expect him to start typing something on the computer.

You mentioned that the NCIS team likes to personalize your character. Any chance Shadow will make an appearance?

GC: You’d have to ask him. He’s probably on the phone with his agent.