NCIS Exclusive: Rocky Carroll to Pull Double Duty on Spin-Off

Rocky! Rocky! Fans of NCIS director Leon Vance will find the coming TV season to be twice as nice, as Rocky Carroll will pull double duty on CBS' NCIS and its spin-off, NCIS: Los Angeles, TVGuide.com has learned.

Carroll was promoted to series regular status on NCIS this past season, as Vance replaced the late Jenny Shepard as director. Moving forward, the actor tells TVGuide.com, "I'll be keeping my normal routine on the 'mother ship,' and I'll be doing at least six of the first 13 episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles."

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In a recent entry on his TVGuide.com celebrity blog, Carroll said he had "a feeling that Director Vance will occasionally appear on the spin-off, just to keep an eye on things." Similarly, NCIS executive producer Shane Brennan told us, "Someone like the director of NCIS might end up having to work with the other agency [NCIS: LA's Office of Special Projects]. That could well happen."

NCIS: Los Angeles stars Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J and Linda Hunt. The spin-off, which was introduced via a pair of May sweeps NCIS episodes, kicks off its first season Tuesday, Sept. 22 — where it will lead out of NCIS' own Season 7 premiere.

Get the inside scoop on the making of NCIS: Los Angeles

Carroll's other acting credits include TV's Roc and Chicago Hope (for which he was twice nominated for a NAACP Image Award), and the films Crimson Tide and Born on the Fourth of July. This past spring, he received an honorary doctorate from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo.

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