Pauley Perrette said she has zero plans to go back to acting in television or film.
The 55-year-old actress, who is known for playing Abby Sciuto in NCIS from 2003 to 2018, declared that she will ‘never again’ return to acting.
Now she said she wants to prioritize a ‘life of true authenticity.’
‘Going back to being an actor would be taking away form this life of true authenticity that I’m living 100 percent of the time,’ she told HELLO! in an article published on Tuesday.
This comes after she departed from her role as the brilliant but offbeat forensic scientist of NCIS following a rumored row with her co-star Mark Harmon, which led to her promptly retired from acting.
Pauley Perrette said she has zero plans to go back to acting in television or film; pictured April 2023 in Los Angeles
Regarding her return to the long-running military police procedural series, she completely ruled it out.
‘I’m not ungrateful for the benefits that it gave to me,’ she continued.
‘But I’m a different person now, and I want to be here for it — the good and the bad and the painful.’
Perrette added: ‘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.’
Perrette is now executive producing documentaries.
‘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 explained.
‘It’s like a drug because I didn’t have to be me, I could be somebody else,’ she said. ‘My character didn’t have all of the problems that I was having.’
However, she said she is drawn to documentary filmmaking because she seeks out ‘truth’ and ‘authenticity.’
The 55-year-old actress, who is known for playing Abby Sciuto in NCIS from 2003 to 2018, declared that she will ‘never again’ return to acting; pictured in 2004 still
Perrette is now executive producing documentaries; pictured March 2023 in Los Angeles
She said acting was like a ‘drug,’ but now she is drawn to documentary filmmaking because she seeks out ‘truth’ and ‘authenticity’; pictured September 2016 in Los Angeles
‘It’s why I only watch documentaries, I want the truth,’ she said.
Back in 2018, Perrette exited the long-running series due to an alleged falling with her co-star, Mark Harmon.
The strained working environment was rumored to have stemmed from an escalated incident involving Harmon’s dog after the actor’s pooch allegedly bit Perrette on set and caused her to become ‘terrified’ of her co-star.
She previously took to X, formerly Twitter, to ‘multiple physical assaults’ but did not name Harmon explicitly.
In June 2019, three years after she left NCIS, she tweeted: ”NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it. I have a new show that is SAFE AND HAPPY! You’ll love it! #HappyPlace Love y’all!
Afterwards, she was casted as the series lead of a new family sitcom titled Broke.
This comes after she departed from her role as the brilliant but offbeat forensic scientist of NCIS following a rumored row with her co-star Mark Harmon, which led to her promptly retired from acting; pictured in 2016 still
Regarding her return to the long-running military police procedural series, she completely ruled it out. ‘I’m not ungrateful for the benefits that it gave to me,’ she continued. ‘But I’m a different person now, and I want to be here for it — the good and the bad and the painful’; pictured in 2010 still, from left to right: Pauley Perrette, Michael Weatherly, Sean Murray, Mark Harmon, Cote de Pablo, Brian Dietzen, Rocky Carroll, David McCallum
In the show, she starred as Jackie Dixon, a single mother who has to take in her wealthy sister’s family when they lose all their money. The show was canceled after its first season.
After the show was canceled, Perrette announced her retirement and revealed she initially planned to quit acting after departing from NCIS.
‘Actually I retired after NCIS but BROKE was important, beautiful,’ she wrote on X in 2020.
‘I did my last dance & am proud of it! Everyone that knows me knew I was retiring right after. I’m proud of my work. I love you guys! I AM FREE!!! (To be the tiny little simple human I am!) #Plants #RescuePets #Books.’
Prior to gaining widespread fame for portraying the beloved forensic scientist in NCIS, she appeared in Dawson’s Creek, The Ring, Almost Famous, Frasier and Time of Your Life.
