National Ledger, 5/14/08

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: "NCIS" regular Brian Dietzen says he and co-star David McCallum have developed "a mentor/student relationship" on and off-set. "It's like life imitating art," says Dietzen, who plays Jimmy Palmer, Dr. Mallard's (McCallum) assistant on the CBS crime drama. "He is wonderful. On the show he's teaching me how to be a medical examiner, and he's teaching me a ton behind the scenes. He and I both come from a theater background, and when I say, 'Let me pick your brain on this or that,' he's always up for talking about his process. It's been really fun."

Dietzen adds he's only gradually become aware of just how big a star McCallum was in his heyday as Russian agent Illya Kuryakin(cq) on the '60s series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." with Robert Vaughn. "He's sometimes a bit modest about it, but I talked to some other people who knew him, and he was like a rock star back then. Sounds like he was living the life of a Beatle, getting mobbed by people."

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Fresno Bee, 5/20/08

Harmon credits the chemistry among the cast members for making the show strong. He calls the "NCIS" team the most talented ensemble cast he has ever worked with. This is coming from a guy who starred on "St. Elsewhere" with the likes of William Daniels, Howie Mandel and Denzel Washington.

One of his co- stars, David McCallum, also brings a long list of acting credits to the role. Before this series, McCallum was best known for his role of Illya Kuryakin on the series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

The first meeting with McCallum was exciting for Harmon because he was a fan of the '60s spy show. "I told him I can't imagine I am shaking Illya Kuryakin's hand." McCallum says, "Good God man, that was 41 years ago."

"And then he walked away from me," Harmon says with a smile.