NCIS/Characters



The faculty and agents of the hit series NCIS. --

Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon)
"Tony: What have you heard? That suspects would rather confess than be interrogated by him? That his steely gaze can cool a room by five degrees? That he can only be killed by a silver bullet, like a werewolf? Well, it's all true, except the silver bullet part. Might give him indigestion or heartburn, but I don't think it'd kill him. Any other questions?"

Not to be confused with Ludicrous Gibbs, though he does pull some pretty crazy stunts to get the bad guys. The team leader, a former marine sniper, and interrogator extraordinaire.

"Abby:(telling Gibbs why she didn't tell him about an ex she got a restraining order on) "I wanted him restrained, Gibbs, not beaten to a bloody pulp.""
 * Always Gets His Man: Highlighted in Mind Games: The serial killer featured in that episode was the boogeyman of D.C. when he was active, evading metro cops and terrorizing the female populace. When explaining the case to McGee, Tony and Paula Cassidy finished by saying "But he made one crucial mistake: He killed a Petty Officer."
 * Amnesia Danger: In "Hiatus", a bomb blast knocks Gibbs back to his Marine days. He has critical information that he doesn't remember. Luckily, remembrance is just a Dope Slap away.
 * Anti-Hero: Type III
 * Atonement Detective
 * Badass: There's a good reason why he has Memetic Badass status in-universe.
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Berserk Button: Do not insult, desecrate or harm the US Marines or anyone associated with them to the Nth degree. Do not hurt any member of his team or anyone else he cares about. And seven thousand times never hurt Abby (though Abby usually has the situation well in hand).
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer
 * Break the Cutie: Gibbs does this to a prospective replacement for Ziva. At least, we see her leave crying, while he nonchalantly walks out and tells Tony, "Strike one".
 * Born In The Wrong Decade: Fairly consistent throughout the series. Example: he tried to get a USB drive to work by biting it.
 * He also refers to computer chips and the like with terms such as "doo-da" and "deweywhacker."
 * It's hard to keep track of how many cell phones he's destroyed during the run of the series, either because they malfunctioned or just generally annoyed him. One even wound up in a jar of paint thinner. His agents now keep plenty of spares in their desks, ready to hand to him at a moment's notice.
 * When a Roomba vacuum cleaner was about to suck up some of the evidence from a crime scene, he didn't even bother picking it up or trying to turn it off. He stomped it to pieces.
 * The Captain
 * Cartwright Curse: With his first wife and Jenny Shepard.
 * Chest of Medals: Subverted, he's Badass enough to have earned numerous medals and citations to be this if he wanted but he doesn't care for medals, Tony apparently keeps track of his accomplishments. He even gave away his Silver Star which is the third highest honour that a US serviceman can get for valour in the face of the enemy.
 * Cold Sniper: Marine sniper previous to his current employment.
 * Cowboy Cop: But he always gets away with it. He's Gibbs. And "he only uses his powers for good".
 * Crazy Prepared: As shown in the blackout, he has a kit with three polaroid cameras, Band-Aids, food, and clean socks.
 * Crusading Widower: He didn't rest until he hunted down and killed the man who slaughtered his first wife and their eight-year-old daughter. Actually, he didn't rest after that either.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Death Glare
 * Determinator
 * Dope Slap: Aka the "Gibbs Slap" done to all of his agents and Abby at least once, but to Tony the most. He even occasionally self-inflicts when he knows he's doing something he'd slap any of his agents for.
 * Drives Like Crazy: Kate at one point describes his driving as "Apparently Gibbs is trying to kill us." He's also the only one on the team unfazed by the motorist antics of Ziva, another crazy driver.
 * Embarrassing First Name: Though it's never stated that he's embarrassed by it, no one except residents of his hometown or his ex-wives call him 'Leroy'.
 * Fair Cop
 * A Father to His Men: Ziva directly calls him "the closest thing she has to a father". (Note that her father is very much alive.)
 * Later, he explicitly refers to his team as his "kids."
 * A special notice should go to Tony as well; especially in that one episode where he referenced to Tony as his son to chat up a man who had a bomb strapped to him... Over Tetris.
 * Foe Yay: With attorney Allison Hart.
 * With Dr. Samantha Ryan in season ten.
 * Friend to All Children: Probably has something to do with Kelly. If there's a child involved, he will take the case very seriously.
 * Guile Hero: Just as guile as a Magnificent Bastard is magnificent.
 * Gut Feeling: It's legendary. Some fans consider his gut an extra character. His gut has Memetic Badass status in-universe.
 * Heroes Want Redheads: His four past wives, and Jenny Shepard (who the two had a past relationship) are all redheads. He's dating a redhead currently.
 * Not anymore, now it's a blonde...
 * Now he has Foe Yay with a brunette.
 * When Tony learns about Gibbs flirting with a suspect, his immediate response is "Is she a redhead?" (She is.)
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Ducky.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: I thought Bobby Caldwell died of AIDS...
 * Wasn't Simon Donovan shot in a convenience store?
 * It's Personal: He has a tendency to do this. As said, anything involving children (or otherwise reminding him of Shannon and Kelly) automatically becomes this. Hurting anyone from his team also pushes him to this point. But every criminal that is disgusting enough to him can trigger this.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Knight in Shining Armor: To the women in his team, especially Abby.
 * Layman's Terms: Does this at least once an episode, mostly to Abby, Ducky and McGee.
 * Magnetic Hero
 * Memetic Badass: in-universe.
 * Military Maverick
 * Must Have Caffeine: In the form of coffee.
 * Papa Wolf: Do not endanger his people. Just don't. Epecially Abby.


 * Perp Sweating: A master of interrogation.
 * Especially when applying his Death Glare.
 * Don't make Gibbs slap the table. You wouldn't like Gibbs when he slaps the table.
 * Phrase Catcher: "On it, Boss."
 * Right Behind Me: Tends to evoke this reaction from his agents.
 * Sexy Mentor
 * Semper Fi: And Gibbs always remembers it.
 * The Strategist
 * Team Dad: To his agents, but especially to Abby.
 * Ten-Minute Retirement: Took a little longer than most but he had one.
 * Ultimate Job Security: It may change with Vance, but it seems this man can never get canned.
 * And, now Vance and Gibbs are friends of a sort, and Vance knows that Gibbs has the unaltered copy of Vance's personnel file - even if he's never opened it. Yet. Nope, Gibbs has yet again armor-plated his job security in adamantium.
 * When Gibbs "retired" at the end of season 3, it later was revealed that Director Shepard had failed to file his retirement. His job security is so great he can't quit even if he wants to!
 * It has been implied on occasion that before Vance, and possibly even during Vance's tenure, Gibbs would be Director if he ever decided he wanted the job; the sheer havoc he could cause if denied means only a fool would try to stop him.
 * Of course the one time Gibbs acted as Director while Jenny was away... let's just say he doesn't have the patience for the politics.
 * Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: The team has had discussions pitting Gibbs vs. the likes of The Terminator, Godzilla, Mothra, and himself. They tend to give the edge to Gibbs.

Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo Jr. (Michael Weatherly)
"Ziva: Tony, your dying words will be 'I've seen this film'."

"Tony: This very instant, someone is incinerating my Ermenegildo Zegna suit, my Armani tie, my Dolce & Gabbana shirt, and my Gucci shoes!"
 * Becoming the Mask: In season four when he went undercover.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Ziva.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Very often Gibbs catches him apparently slacking off, only to then reveal all the investigation and work he's been doing.
 * Berserk Button:
 * Don't ever betray NCIS or the USA in general (like Agent Lee) or make fun of people he makes fun of but you don't know (like Det. McCadden).
 * Oh... and don't try to kill him and then think you can work with him.
 * And for the love of all things military, leave Ziva alone.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Clear My Name
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Exasperated Perp: His preferred method of interrogation. Most prominent when he doesn't ask questions, but just sits there, chewing on his tie and playing Tetris on his phone.
 * He once pulled this off while he was the one being interrogated. By the director of Mossad.
 * Wouldn't that be considered subverted since Tony was the "Perp" in this case and he pissed off the interrogator?
 * At first, but by the end he made Eli David (yes, it was Ziva's father) admit that he had
 * Fair Cop
 * Genre Savvy: He's a big movie buff, and will very often find a way to compare the current case to a movie he's seen.
 * Occasionally, however, he turns out to be Wrong Genre Savvy.
 * Handsome Lech
 * Hey, You: Calling McGee Probie or one of many McNicknames.
 * Ho Yay:
 * Let's just say there's a reason Gibbs/DiNozzo is the fandom's most popular slash pairing...
 * DiNozzo/McGee is fairly high up on the list as well.
 * Jerk Jock: he did graduate with a major in phys. ed. you know...
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: If you dig deep enough, you may find it, somewhere.
 * Ladykiller in Love: With Jeanne Benoit; he was undercover at the time, so it wasn't supposed to happen.
 * Locked in a Freezer: With Ziva in "Boxed In".
 * Mock Millionaire
 * The Movie Buff
 * My Friends and Zoidberg: Is on the receiving end of this twice in the episode "Last Man Standing."
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Of course, there's the McNicknames, but Tony gets his own share of this from Fornell, who pronounces his name DiNotso (he says the double z's like 'pizza') and occasionally McGee calls him DiNosey.
 * Number Two: Abby at one point claims he "becomes Gibbs" when Gibbs is not around.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: In the rare times when he's totally serious, it's almost scary.
 * Watch his interrogation room time in "Iced." He may have majored in Phys Ed, but he paid attention in his core classes.
 * Porn Stash: We've never seen it, but it must require a C-5 Galaxy to carry.
 * However, in "Bikini Wax," he reveals that he has a subscription to "GSM" ("Get Some Magazine"), and brings in one of the issues from his collection because the victim had a photoshoot in it.
 * Reference Overdosed: His movie references turn this show into this all on his own.
 * Sharp-Dressed Man: Several episodes reveal that his wardrobe is a who's-who of expensive name brands. His grousing during the shower scene in "SWAK" is one of the best examples:

"Tony: I'm the wildcard. I'm the guy that looks at the reality in front of him and refuses to accept it."
 * Spanner in the Works: Tony is often so unpredictable that he can screw over the best laid plans of the villains by simply being his annoying self. This is also his preferred method of interrogation, thinking so far out of the loop that rehearsed defenses are useless, and being so annoying or weird that the suspect is unable to think clearly. This methodology also proves useful when he is being interrogated by the FBI or the Director of Mossad. He even called himself one in the season 7 opener:


 * Took a Level In Badass: Multiple levels between seasons three and four, then smaller yet still noticeable levels between seasons five and six, then multiple levels again between seasons six and seven.
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: A little with Kate, but to a much greater degree with Ziva.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2 with McGee. They act almost like brothers.
 * Tony is also very close to Gibbs, but you wouldn't say so from their normal interactions. It's the same story with Kate (which appears at first like a type 1), and with Ziva.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy:
 * Mostly in the early seasons, with Gibbs.
 * Also clearly present with his biological father. They're improving.

Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander)
""Hack into the servers. I can't believe I just said that. I would have never suggested that before I started working here.""

"Abby: Care to guess what their fetish was, Kate? Kate: Oh, no. I'm going to hell just listening to all this."
 * Catholic School Girls Rule:
 * Also an Homage as she was dressed as Gogo.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Emotionless Girl: You can feel a breath of cold air when she talks, especially to Tony.
 * Fair Cop
 * Former Teen Rebel: DiNozzo finds out that when she was a university student, she once engaged in (and won) a wet T-shirt contest.
 * Horrible Judge of Character: She thinks she is a good one but has helped more than one murderous psychopath because they look sympathetic, one nearly kills her,
 * I'm Going to Hell For This: In the episode where the victim and attacker were on the same "dating" site
 * Former Teen Rebel: DiNozzo finds out that when she was a university student, she once engaged in (and won) a wet T-shirt contest.
 * Horrible Judge of Character: She thinks she is a good one but has helped more than one murderous psychopath because they look sympathetic, one nearly kills her,
 * I'm Going to Hell For This: In the episode where the victim and attacker were on the same "dating" site


 * Informed Ability: Ari comments on her freakish observation skills - but the next episode Gibbs corrects her recreation of room. And on a different occasion this former Secret Service agent couldn't kill Ari because his eyes looked kind...
 * Lady of War
 * Mood Whiplash: Causes two cases back to back in the Season 2 finale when she  only to reveal   only to then.
 * Ms. Fanservice:
 * Only Sane Woman
 * Retroactive Recognition: Much more well-known as Dr. Maura Isles.
 * Retroactive Recognition: Much more well-known as Dr. Maura Isles.

Abigail "Abby" Sciuto (Pauley Perrette)
"Tony: Abby Sciuto, resident NCIS forensic scientist, heart and soul. A paradox wrapped in an oxymoron, smothered in contradictions and terms. Sleeps in a coffin. Really, the happiest goth you'll ever meet."

"Abby: I like you Michelle, so I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."
 * All Women Are Prudes: Subverted. She has no problem with sex, just certain expressions of it (like Palmer's foot/shoe fetish AND how carefully he takes note of his coworker's footwear...)
 * A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside An Enigma: See her character quote.
 * Badass Adorable: Once, she was Alone with the Psycho,  and he tried to kill her. The team figured it out, and came running, only to find that she had kicked his ass, hog tied him, and gagged him. She wasn't even winded.
 * There's also the time she  By the time Gibbs and company arrive, she's using a taser on him.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Beware the Nice Ones:
 * She once threatened Agent Lee that she's one of the few people in the world who can kill someone and leave absolutely no forensic evidence.
 * And a couple times people tried to hurt Abby, the scene cuts to agents running to help her, and when they arrive, Abby has taken her attacker down, and is clearly coming down from a major adrenaline rush (see Badass Adorable).
 * She can verbally dress you down as well as Gibbs, and in a way it's even more harsh just because it's coming from her.
 * Boring but Practical: Her job as The Lab Rat.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: See Perky Goth. Can also be something of an Adult Child at times.
 * Daddy's Girl: In this case, Gibbs is the "Daddy." It's a common fan theory that she's something of a surrogate for his deceased daughter Kelly.
 * And Abagail actually does mean "Daddy's Girl" in Hebrew.
 * Embarrassing First Name: She doesn't much care for being called "Abigail".
 * First-Name Basis: Besides his wife and Gibbs, she's the only one who calls Director Vance "Leon."
 * Freaky Fashion, Mild Mind
 * Genki Girl: If this were a manga, she would be most likely to Say It with Hearts.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Australians love Pauley Perrette.
 * Girlish Pigtails
 * The Glomp
 * The Heart: As indicated in the character quote, again.
 * Hey Its That Girl: Who would have guessed that Abby used to be a Stillwater groupie?
 * Fridge Brilliance: Abby is like Gibbs' surrogate daughter. And he's from Stillwater, Pennsylvania.
 * Hot Scientist
 * I Work Alone: For the sake of everyone involved. Including the bad guys.
 * I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: When Michelle Lee suggests that NCIS is better off without Gibbs in the episode "Escaped":
 * I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: When Michelle Lee suggests that NCIS is better off without Gibbs in the episode "Escaped":

"Marty: You wouldn't happen to have an unhealthy obsession with death, would you? Abby: Oh, no. It's just a hobby."
 * Killer Rabbit: See below.
 * The Lab Rat
 * Let's Get Dangerous: People who target Abby tend to wish they hadn't (via off-screen mayhem).
 * Love You and Everybody: She's a big-time hugger.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Fetish Fuel, indeed.
 * Morality Pet: To Gibbs. He refers to her as the team mascot.
 * Motor Mouth
 * Must Have Caffeine: In the form of "Caf Pow" soda.
 * She's tried to break the addiction before. It never works.
 * Nightmare Fetishist


 * Parasol of Prettiness: Has a black, lacy one, that she carries in a few episodes. Speaking of which...
 * Perky Goth: If you put Lisbeth Salander and Penelope Pitstop in a blender...
 * Power Echoes: "...and I will rise up, and I will find the man that did this to Tony, and I will crucify him!
 * She Cleans Up Nicely: Most notably in the Halloween episode, "Witch Hunt", from Season 4, where she dresses up as Marilyn Monroe, causing speechlessness in McGee and DiNozzo when they first see her.
 * She's Got Legs: "And don't look up my skirt!"
 * Techno Babble
 * The Cast Showoff: Pauley Perrette got her Masters in Criminal Science.
 * Will They or Won't They?: Rather, will they or won't they again; she and McGee used to date, and still have chemistry, up to and including being jealous of whoever the other one is currently seeing.
 * Vanity License Plate: "4NS CHIK"
 * Zettai Ryouiki

Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum)
""I can't wait to weigh your liver.""


 * Broken Bird: OK, he's not a woman. But goodness, that was even the actual name of the episode.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: His tendency to go on long speeches during work is lampshaded by Palmer when he does his first dissection. "I feel the urge to explain something tangentially relevant."
 * Clear My Name: Subverted, Ducky didn't want to clear it, but Gibbs did.
 * The Coroner
 * Creepy Mortician: A very lovable kind of creepy, but still damn creepy. Gibbs finds it a useful way to break some suspects by showing them what will happen to their bodies if they refuse to cooperate and end up dead as a result. It works too.
 * He is kidnapped and nearly killed by one, who begins to drain his blood before Gibbs and company arrive to save him.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Would you have imagined Illya Kuryakin as a medical examiner?
 * Well, he and Patsy Stone escaped from that café.
 * Lampshaded in one episode when Kate asks Gibbs what Ducky looked like when he was younger. Gibbs replies with, you guessed it, Illya Kuryakin.
 * Hmm, I wonder if he has a map of time in his head?
 * If they don't like the show or any of the other characters or actors, chances are the crowds will go gaga over him.
 * Gentleman and a Scholar
 * Heroes Want Redheads: The very lovely Dr. Jordan Hampton.
 * The Medic: In addition to being the Medical Examiner.
 * The Munchausen: Subverted, as it seems to be generally accepted by those who know him that his stories are true.
 * My Beloved Smother: His mother had Alzheimer's and drove him crazy in early seasons; she was put in a home shortly after the death of her actress in late 2008 and died a year later.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Which leads to...
 * Punny Name: With a name like that, what did you think he'd be called, Mousey?
 * Ari actually first thinks of the locomotive, mildly surprising Ducky.
 * Quintessential British Gentleman: He is, of course, Scottish, but he was schooled at Oxford. This trope, therefore, naturally applies.
 * Shown Their Work: A meta-version. To prepare for the role, David McCallum went to coroner and medical examiner's conferences to learn the trade. He became so good the producers were tempted to pay him a consulting fee.
 * Talking to the Dead: He routinely does this with his "patients." Truth in Television: Real Life medical examiners have been known to do this.
 * Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: He became a licensed psychologist in later seasons after we see him studying for his exams and is occasionally called-upon to profile a suspect.

Timothy McGee (Sean Murray)
"Abby: I love it when you talk geek! McGee: I love it that you love it."


 * Abusive Parents: Revealed in recent seasons, his father was a very cold, emotionally abusive man to his son. McGee tells of a time when young he spent a great deal of effort and love on a birthday card for his father. His father's response: "You could do better."
 * Big Brother Instinct: Will do some irrational things to protect his college-age sister, some of which have jeopardized his career once.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer
 * Butt Monkey
 * Clear My Name
 * Cool Car: Had one in high school, much to the surprise of DiNozzo.
 * Deadpan Snarker: In later seasons.
 * Hidden Depths: A tech head, hacker and best selling author.
 * Who loves the outdoors and has various skills from the scouts, including tracking abilities.
 * Hollywood Nerd: He plays role-playing games online, prompting the others to occasionally call him "Elf Lord."
 * Ho Yay: Quite a bit with Tony, even being Mistaken for Gay on an occasion or two.
 * Loser Has Your Back: Plays this role once or twice in early seasons, but he's no longer enough of a loser to pull it off.
 * Most Writers Are Writers: He's a successful author of novels inspired by his workplace and coworkers, which he writes under the name "Thom E. Gemcity." (It's an anagram of Timothy McGee.)
 * Mr. Fixit: "Special Agent Goodwrench," season two, episode four.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Suffers from all of Tony's Mc-names and being called "Probie."
 * Name McAdjective: Tony gives him a lot of Mc-nicknames to work with.
 * Techno Babble
 * Took a Level In Badass: Between seasons six and seven. Big time. Most exemplified in the recent episode "Need To Know" when he was giving the young Special Agent Dorneget tips onto how he could possibly join the Major Case Squad as well as some of Gibbs' rules.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Tony, behaving much like a pair of squabbling brothers at times.
 * Will They or Won't They?: As noted above with Abby.

Ziva David (Cote de Pablo)
"Eli David: Use her well, Leon. Ziva is the sharp end of the spear."

""Have you ever been tied up by a woman before? Did you like it? Then today's not your lucky day.""

"Vance: Most fathers teach their daughters to drive. I have you to blame for this? Eli David: This she learned from her mother."
 * Action Girl: Ziva is (ex-)Mossad. The show frequently implies she used to be a Dark Action Girl.
 * A Real Woman Is A Killer
 * Ambiguously Bi: Ziva enjoys dropping casual hints to Tony that she likes girls as well. So far she's only been seen with male lovers though. Mostly played for laughs or titillation.
 * Badass: Early on in Ziva's tenure at NCIS, she is not allowed to participate in taking down suspects. Another woman comments on the presumed chauvinism of this. Ziva replies that Gibbs is actually afraid she'll kill the suspect by mistake.
 * Then it happened.
 * And again.
 * Badass Israeli: Mossad
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Tony.
 * Berserk Button: A couple, but God help you if you hurt Tony.
 * Broken Bird: Though she covers it well.
 * Blunt Metaphors Trauma
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Badass, indeed.
 * Clear My Name
 * Does Not Know Her Own Strength: Oh, man!
 * Drives Like Crazy: Director Shepard once said of her, "I think she was an Eastern European cab driver in a past life."
 * Drives Like Crazy: Director Shepard once said of her, "I think she was an Eastern European cab driver in a past life."


 * One of her notable driving habits is doing 80 in a 40 zone, as was noted on her speeding ticket.
 * Fake Nationality: An Israeli portrayed by a Chilean?
 * Funny Foreigner: Subverted, except for her tendency to butcher English-language quotes or figures of speech.
 * Hot Amazon: We did mention her affiliation with Mossad, right?
 * Informed Judaism: Though considering her former profession as a Mossad operative, strict adherence to almost any religion would be tough.
 * Kill the Ones You Love: Ziva is forced to do this to her half-brother Ari.
 * Knife Nut: Ziva is one of the few people in the world who can kill you reliably with a thrown knife. She has demonstrated this.
 * The Ladette: She rotates between this and;
 * Lady of War
 * Locked In A Shipping Crate: With Tony in "Boxed In"
 * "Ma'am" Shock: Another Berserk Button.
 * MacGyvering
 * Malaproper: Her messing up quotes, again; this is the main reason she qualified as a Funny Foreigner.
 * Mata Hari
 * Ms. Fanservice: Sort of. She's had some big moments, but much less frequently than Abby.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Now that she's a trainee NCIS agent, Tony has started calling her "Probie".
 * Gibbs has called her "Probie" on at least 2 occasions.
 * My Nayme Is: "David" has the earlier pronunciation (just as it appears, and as an iamb), rather than the Anglicized, trochaic "Dei-vid."
 * Nice Cap: There's an orange cap that means quite a bit to her.
 * One of the Boys: She likes to hang around men in a nonromantic wolf-in-the-pack sort of way and she takes great pride in her skill at manly things.
 * Omniglot: She speaks at least nine languages.
 * Photographic Memory: Very useful in her line of work.
 * Proud Warrior Race Gal : Because she is a Badass Israeli
 * Scrabble Babble: Subverted one time she played McGee in Scrabble. With the last Q at a corner of two Is, she makes Qi, read 'Chi'. Doubles as Underdogs Never Lose as she came back from a 50 point deficit earning 62 points.
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension/Will They or Won't They?: Done to death with Tony.
 * Verbal Tic: Has a slight habit of forming questions as statements with "yes?" tacked on the end.

Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly)
""Do you think it would be inappropriate if, as director, I went in there and smacked that smile off her face?""


 * Da Chief
 * Iron Lady
 * : Aww . ..
 * Sexy Mentor
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Abused her power to try and get revenge on Rene Benoit, the man who killed her father
 * Your Days Are Numbered:
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Abused her power to try and get revenge on Rene Benoit, the man who killed her father
 * Your Days Are Numbered:
 * Your Days Are Numbered:
 * Your Days Are Numbered:

Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll)
"Abby: Wow. I heard about your techy mojo."


 * Bait and Switch Tyrant
 * Da Chief
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Vance is the husband and father of a respectable suburban family and unlike Gibbs, is not the type to have a series of four wives.
 * Genius Bruiser: He was once a boxer, but can compete with McGee in knowledge of cryptology.
 * Happily Married
 * Dead Person Impersonation: It's heavily implied in one episode that he is not the real Leon Vance, but an old boxing acquaintance thereof, and that the two switched identities at some point in the past.
 * Mysterious Past: Subverted, not all of it has been explained...yet.
 * Oral Fixation Fixation: Chewing on toothpicks.
 * Scary Black Man

Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen)
""Is it just me or does anyone else wonder how they get IUDs in there? That probably sounded a lot more inappropriate than I meant.""


 * Butt Monkey
 * Fake Guest Star: Might as well be a Trope Codifier. Dietzen was credited as a recurring guest star for the first 5 seasons and as "Also Starring" from season 6 onwards. Is even on the cover art for the Season 8 DVD but is still not a main cast member.
 * Fetish: He apparently has a thing for boots.
 * The Glasses Come Off: During his Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * Love I Not Honored More: He tells his love that while he loves her more than anything, his True Companions were in trouble and he needed to go and help them, even if it meant moving the wedding up to a sooner date (within the hour) and then come back for the honeymoon. She completely understands.
 * Nerds Are Sexy: Well, Agent Lee thought so.
 * His current fiance, Breena, does also.
 * Nightmare Fetishist
 * Recurring Character
 * Retirony: Set up, then averted. One moment, Jimmy's talking with Agent Barrett about his recent engagement. Seconds later, the Port-to-Port Killer is loose and violently kidnapping Jimmy and Barrett. However, Gibbs saves the day, and Jimmy ends up surviving the episode with only a few scratches.
 * That Came Out Wrong: Happens to him a lot, and when he tries to explain, he just looks worse.
 * The Watson: To Ducky's Holmes.

Brent Langer (Jonathan LaPaglia)

 * Clear My Name: After he had been killed.
 * Red Herring Mole
 * Whack a Mole: Subverted, due to him not actually being the mole and being killed trying to stop the mole.

Vivian Blackadder (Robyn Lively)

 * Sister Judy
 * The Pete Best
 * What Could Have Been: Was a member of the NCIS team in the pilot, before she was replaced by Kate.

Notable Antagonists/Secondary Characters:

Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin)
""Sorry, Caitlin.""


 * Affably Evil
 * Badass Israeli
 * Bastard Bastard
 * Becoming the Mask: Was essentially conceived and raised to be a mole in Hamas.
 * Cold Sniper
 * Complete Monster
 * Deadly Doctor
 * Death Seeker
 * Disproportionate Retribution: His motive behind everything he does to Gibs and NCIS in general?
 * Double Agent
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: It is implied that he cared for his late mother and believes his father is responsible for her death.
 * Even Evil Has Its Standards: He found Gerald's inability to drive Ducky's vintage Morgan painful to listen to or see.
 * Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: His fatal mistake was that it didn't even occur to him that Gibbs would really trust Ziva to watch his back and assumed Gibbs was alone when he confronted him.
 * Gone Horribly Right: His father raised him to be a Complete Monster... who hated him for it and did everything he could to destroy what his father had worked for.
 * Magnificent Bastard
 * Revenge by Proxy: He stuffs Kate into the fridge and tries to do the same to Abby, aware that it's the best way to make Gibbs suffer. He also tries to kill Jenny, snipes at Mcgee (who lucks out by unknowingly moving out of the way at the last second), and tries to kidnap Ducky. The only member of Team Gibbs he doesn't single out is Tony.

Rene Benoit (Armand Assante)
"It was actually cognac, not wine, that he and Ducky drank when they met."
 * Affably Evil
 * Arms Dealer
 * The Chessmaster
 * Combat Aestheticist: In a strategic rather then one-on-one fashion. If he wants someone out of the way he uses The Plan rather than just ordering a hit because the latter would be too crude for a Man of Wealth and Taste.
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Or in this case, their children: his daughter Jeanne.
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones
 * French Jerk
 * Man of Wealth and Taste: He has a fondness for fine wine.


 * N-Word Privileges: Only a French guy could give himself the codename La Grenouille (the Frog).

Trent Kort (David Dayan Fisher)

 * Deep-Cover Agent: CIA agent deep inside Rene Benoit's organization
 * Dragon with an Agenda: Supposedly once Benoit's number two, supposedly CIA Deep-Cover Agent, it is not clear what he is up to.
 * Knight Templar: As far as we can make out.
 * Magnificent Bastard: Perhaps even more than Ari
 * No Name Given: If we're to believe Jenny, "Trent Kort" is an alias.
 * No Name Given: If we're to believe Jenny, "Trent Kort" is an alias.

Tobias C. Fornell (Joe Spano)
"Fornell: And people say we're bastards? Gibbs: Only because they know us."

"Tony: I thought you were dead. Fornell: Got better. Kate: I thought he was dead. Tony: Got better."
 * Aloof Ally
 * Always Gets His Man
 * Like an Old Married Couple or maybe Heterosexual Life Partners with Gibbs. This scene from "Short Fuse" says it best...
 * Perp Sweating: Not seen as often, but he's brutal in the interrogation room.
 * The Rival: A friendly rival, but a rival.
 * Unexplained Recovery:


 * Vitriolic Best Buds: He considers Gibbs his best friend.

Michelle Lee (Liza Lapira)
"Tony: She's even more probie than Probie!"


 * Double Agent
 * I Have Your Daughter: Not her, but the people that were making her be a Double Agent.
 * The Mole: Framed Langer for her crimes and kills him.
 * Redemption Equals Death: She became the Human Shield in a standoff for the culprit that kidnapped her daughter and made her the mole. Once she knew her daughter was safe, she gave Gibbs a non-verbal signal to shoot her and by proxy, shooting him as well, killing them both.
 * Sympathetic Murderer: Despite killing and framing Langer, it's possible to feel bad about the situation she was put in. Even Ziva and McGee (to an extent) agreed that they may have done the same thing.
 * Whack a Mole

Mossad Director Eli David (Michael Nouri)
""Tell me, Leon. Are we winning?""


 * Abusive Parent: He uses his own children as tools in his schemes. As fathers go, he's about on par with Fire Lord Ozai.
 * Anti-Hero, or Tragic Villain: depending on your point of view.
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Badass Israeli
 * The Chessmaster
 * Complete Monster: He raised his children Ari and Ziva to be merciless killers. It is strongly implied that the attack that killed Ari's mother was part of his plans to harden Ari into a killer. He later . Later, after.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Fallen Hero
 * He Who Fights Monsters: Eli is easily as bad as the terrorists that he fights, to the point that.
 * Knight Templar
 * Lawful Neutral
 * Moral Myopia: He has repeatedly violated Israel's treaties with the USA by ordering operations on US soil, which have resulted Mossad agents killing a number of American federal agents. When Tony is forced to kill a Mossad agent who resisted being arrested for the murders he committed under Eli's orders, Eli treats it as a horrible offense against Israel by the USA and tries to have Tony extradited.
 * Shell Shocked Senior: He shows weariness with the world of intrigue with every breath.
 * The Spymaster
 * The Woobie: To some people, to others a Complete Monster.
 * Was It Really Worth It?: Seems to be asking himself this. His actions ultimately turn both of his children against him.

Mike Franks (Muse Watson)
""Don't tempt me, Jethro! I ain't nearly drunk enough.""


 * Anti-Hero: His retired status makes him both willing and able to go into moral grey areas that are too dark for the regular team.
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Cowboy Cop
 * Cynical Mentor: Seems to have been this to Gibbs
 * Grumpy Old Man: Image an older, grumpier Gibbs.
 * Heroic BSOD: It's implied in one episode that 9/11 caused him to retire.
 * It was implicitly stated to be the Khobar Towers bombing in '96, as well as the lukewarm response to it, that prompted him to retire. 9/11 was five years later.
 * He even stated that he was in Mexico when 9/11 happened, hence how he didn't know how the pursuit of bin Laden had gone.
 * Retired Badass
 * Retired Badass

Jackie Vance (Paula Newsome)
""You are my partner now.""


 * Apron Matron
 * Battle Couple
 * Happily Married: (To Leon)
 * Mama Bear

Lt. Col. Hollis Mann (Susanna Thompson)
""If this is going to turn into a pissing match, you'd better bring an umbrella.""


 * Distaff Counterpart: to Gibbs. She's even a team leader in the Army's corresponding department, Army Criminal Investigation Division - yes, that spells what you think it does: usually referred to as Army CID.
 * Everyone Can See It: Her UST with Gibbs is noticed by the whole team.
 * Fiery Strawberry Blonde
 * Girl of the Week: Subverted; she appears to be this at first, but it takes her and Gibbs two episodes to get together and they remain together for almost a year. In fact, she's easily the most long-term love interest Gibbs has had on the show.
 * Good-Looking Privates: She appears in fatigues a few times. Squee ensued.
 * Hands-On Approach: Gibbs does this to her in "Grace Period." She doesn't seem to mind that much.
 * Hero of Another Story: Her career with CID could easily have been the basis for a Spin-Off.
 * Jurisdiction Friction: This is how she meets Gibbs and what brings them back together.
 * Love Interest: To Gibbs.
 * Put on a Bus: To Hawaii.

Anthony Dinozzo Sr. (Robert Wagner)

 * Chivalrous Pervert: Ziva and Abby like him, which is saying something.
 * Con Man: He has been mooching off his extensive network of "friends" he made during his millionaire days for a very long time.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Hidden Depths: Once managed to knock out a weapon dealer's bodyguard with one punch to the face.
 * Loveable Rogue
 * Silver Fox: Has the knack for charming any woman he crosses.

Shannon and Kelly Gibbs

 * Death by Origin Story: Well, it WAS their deaths that made Gibbs into the agent he is today.