‘NCIS’ Kills Off a Major Character

“NCIS” is saying goodbye to one of their own.

After 18 years on the show, Rocky Carroll’s character Director Leon Vance was killed off in a shooting with a corrupt agent in Tuesday’s episode. 

Vance was then portrayed being welcomed to heaven by Chief Medical Examiner Donald "Ducky” Mallard (played by Adam Campbell), who died in his sleep during Season 21. 

Carroll opened up to Variety about his exit, which took place on the show’s 500th episode.

He shared, "I’ve been able to wrap my mind around it and come to terms with it because I’ve known about this since November, when I was first told about what was going to happen. And the last scene, where Director Vance realizes that he’s been talking to basically the Grim Reaper, the angel of death, and walks toward the light, that was shot on December 11."

The 62-year-old added, "I really think it’s a great episode. 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.”

Rocky said his “knee-jerk response” was to question why his character had to die, instead of leaving for another country like some other characters had in the past.

"The studio, the network, everybody involved said… ‘Let’s do something spectacular for the 500th episode. And this is what we’ve come up with,'" Carroll explained. "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.' It’s a terrific storyline. And you know, actors love dying on camera anyway."