‘NCIS’ Alum Pauley Perrette Will ‘Never Return’ to Acting and Is a ‘Different Person Now’: ‘Going Back Would Take Away From This Life of True Authenticity’

“NCIS” favorite Pauley Perrette recently told Hello magazine that she has no intention of returning to acting. Her last major screen credit was the starring role of the CBS sitcom “Broke,” which ran for only one season and 13 episodes in 2020. Perrette announced her retirement shortly thereafter, and now she said she will “never return” to the screen.

“I’m not ungrateful for the benefits that it gave to me,” Perrette said. “But I’m a different person now and I want to be here for it – the good and the bad and the painful. I want to be me all the time, and it takes a good amount of courage for me to say that to myself but it’s authentically how I feel.”

Related Stories

VIP+

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Success Doesn’t Downplay Risky Reboots Coming to Theaters

'Yellow Face' Review: Daniel Dae Kim Leads a Witty, Powerful Broadway Staging of David Henry Hwang's Comedy

“At this point in my life I have this deep need to find authenticity in everything, and being an actor, especially at certain points in my life, was a great escape,” she continued. “It’s like a drug because I didn’t have to be me, I could be somebody else. My character didn’t have all of the problems that I was having…It’s why I only watch documentaries, I want the truth. For me, going back to being an actor would be taking away from this life of true authenticity that I’m living 100% of the time.”

Perrette got her acting start in the 1990s and built a resume that included guest appearances on television shows like “Frasier” and performances in movies like “Almost Famous.” She gained recognition worldwide when she was cast as Abby Sciuto in CBS’ “NCIS,” which premiered in 2003. Perrette stayed with the show through 2018, which included 15 seasons and 352 episodes. Her character quickly became a fan favorite and even crossed over onto episodes of franchise spinoffs like “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “NCIS: New Orleans.”

“NCIS” is still on television, although Perrette most certainly is not. For now she’s staying away from acting, although recent news of Daniel Day-Lewis ending his retirement after seven years might give Perrette fans hope that one she will grace the screen again.