What Timothy McGee From NCIS Is Actually Like In Real Life

From a nerdy side character to a respected leader of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services team, Timothy McGee has gone through quite a few changes over the last 20+ years of the hit CBS procedural drama "NCIS." As an actor, Sean Murray, who portrays the special agent on the show, has had a similar career arc, so to speak. Murray has been a part of the cast of "NCIS" since 2003, being introduced as the tech-savvy rookie in the seventh episode of Season 1. Since then, Murray has become an integral part of the cast, having the longest streak on the series of any other cast member. But it's more than just his career trajectory that Murray has in common with his character.

Similar to McGee's background (presumably not an accident), Murray's father was a naval officer who was stationed all over the world, which meant the TV star moved around for much of his childhood. The irony that Murray plays an agent of a naval investigation team isn't lost on his dad. "My father gets such a kick out of that," he once told The Spokesman-Review. Although, Murray added that his parents would have rather had him work in cybertechnology, which aids his portrayal of an über-intelligent computer connossieur on "NCIS."

Murray revealed to The Chicago Tribune that while he could comprehend the "tech talk" from McGee, his roles before scoring "NCIS" had him step out of his comfort zone a little too much. In his early acting days, he landed two roles that required him to play basketball and tennis, both of which he realized too late that he wasn't very skilled at. He mused, "Basically, these two stories point to the fact that I was not a major jock."

Considering most of the original cast of "NCIS" has left the show — including principal stars like Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, and Paulie Perrette — it's only natural for fans to speculate whether Sean Murray's time on the crime procedural is up. And after chatting with TVLine, Murray didn't really clear up the rumors. "Things can take big, unexpected turns with characters. I mean, things can happen," he said (not so much the reassurance we were hoping for). "No one is ever quite safe on this show."

Of course, if you're an "NCIS" fan, you might be inclined to watch more of what Murray is known for. He's been featured in other shows, including "Harts of the West" and "JAG," both of which he did before his most notable work. But aside from "NCIS," Murray made movie history with his portrayal of Thackery Binx in the iconic Disney Halloween film "Hocus Pocus." And while we don't know McGee's fate, it sounds like Murray will never be gone from our screens, if he can help it. As he said on "The Patrick LabyorSheaux" podcast, "I love a set more than anything in the world."