How NCIS’ Rocky Carroll Really Feels About His Shocking Exit

NCIS star Rocky Carroll shared his honest reaction to his character’s shocking death on the March 24 episode of the crime procedural, 18 years after making his onscreen debut.

This story contains spoilers from the March 24 episode of NCIS.

Rocky Carroll is unpacking his small screen sendoff.

After the NCIS star—who debuted as Director Leon Vance on the crime procedural in 2008—was killed off during the show’s landmark 500th episode, he explained how the decision was made to say goodbye to his long-running character.

“The studio, the network, everybody involved said, ‘We don’t have to put this show on the map—it’s on the map,’” Carroll told Variety in an interview published March 24, “‘but we have to remind people why it is one of the most watched shows in the world and has been on as long as it has. Let’s do something spectacular for the 500th episode. And this is what we’ve come up with.’”

While the 62-year-old admitted he was initially apprehensive about his character’s demise, he was soon able to “come full circle with” the decisive plot twist.

“Once the creative in me and the director in me read the script and got a real good gist of it, I was like, ‘It actually is a great idea,’” he continued. “It’s a terrific storyline.”

During the milestone episode, Vance was killed in a shooting with a corrupt agent, after which he was welcomed to heaven by late Chief Medical Examiner Donald “Ducky” Mallard (played by Adam Campbell). With much of the episode focused on his character, Carroll acknowledged his onscreen fate was among the more satisfying TV deaths for an actor to portray.

“I’m not just saying this to be a team player, but if you’ve gotta send a character off, what a way to go,” he explained. “It really is exactly what our executive producer, Steven D. Binder, said. He wanted to write not only a great episode, but a real love letter to the character that really summarized his journey and his impact on the show, and I think we achieved that.”

The actor also offered a silver lining to his exit, pointing out that his lengthy tenure on the show is an enviable feat in his line of work.

“For selfish reasons, I have to remind people: I’ve been a character on this series for 18 years,” he said. “Most Hollywood careers don’t last 18 years. So to be able to play one character on one of the most popular shows in the world for 18 seasons, that’s the equivalent of living to be 105.”