(L-R) Michael Weatherly, Mark Harmon and Sean Murray in NCIS
[Check out my 11/20/11 pictorial update at the bottom of this article!]
TV News: I just started watching my DVR’d episodes of NCIS starring Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perette and I noticed a rather gaunt Sean Murray who plays Special Agent Timothy McGee. I was concerned because if the camera puts ten pounds on you, he’s nearly non-existent! So I was worried about Sean Murray’s weight loss!
I decided to investigate using my internet forensic skills… OK, I used various terms in the Google search window. What I found out, was that, according the CBS people, Sean Murray is not ill. The official statement is that he’s been on a diet & exercise regime.
Updated: Sean Murray addressed the weight loss from his Twitter account (Gotta love the Twitter!), he said he lost 25 pounds via abstaining from alcohol, most sugar and eating organic food. OMG! No alcohol!? I’m doomed. He went on to address that if you look closely, you can watch his weight loss, via one pound at a time, over the course of season 7 of NCIS.
Wow, it’s working. Almost too well. He seems pretty gaunt, that’s for sure and it really seems like it’s beyond a normal diet plan. I have to wonder if he went vegetarian too. That could account for the quicker change that fans are noticing more than anything else. To turn vegetarian, you have to be pretty careful to maintain protein intake and other details. That’s if he did.
So that’s the deal that I can find for now on Sean Murray from NCIS.
(This could be considered a spoiler… as attested to by “:@,” or whatever he’s calling himself by.)
Speaking of NCIS, the premiere episode, titled “Spider and the Fly” was an impressive completion of the season seven cliffhanger they left us with. I was almost surprised how the team wrangled the Ambassador into shooting his own sister. Sweet, poetic justice! Just the way I like it served!
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Updated: (Sean Murray’s Twitter account)
Update #2 (11/20/11) on Sean Murray’s Health:
It’s obvious from the many comments that have come in to this article, that Sean Murray has many, many fans who are very worried about him. Over the last year or so, fans have watched him as he’s lost weight, and now, with the most recent episodes of NCIS, it would seem that his voice, along with his weight, is changing. Getting raspier or less authoritative.
When he took to Twitter to mention his weight loss, it seemed innocent enough. But as fans weigh, in addition to the lack of any further press or information from the network or Sean Murray himself, I’m starting to wonder what really is up? I’d think that as fans go a little crazy being worried, that more info would be released publicly from someone.
Be it as it may, I thought I’d toss up a few images from NCIS from over the last few years for comparative purposes. For me, I’m not seeing any huge eye-opening differences between the images, but you can see there’s something up… especially in the neck region. But that difference to me, looks like a more defined set of neck muscles. check it out:
Sean Murray in 2009:
Sean Murray in NCIS fr 2009
Sean Murray, 2010:
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Sean Murray, 2011:
Heck, I don’t know why I didn’t think of this pictorial diff before now!
Well, here’s hoping that all really is well. From what I’m seeing in the comment section, you guys are great fans and care an awful lot about him. And you are worried. You’re all awesome fans!
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UPDATE 4/16/12: Here’s an interesting perspective… I took a break from NCIS for a while and when I came back, and I don’t have recent memories to compare Sean now to before, he sounds like any other slightly raspy-voiced actor. With no comparisons, he looks like any other thin person and doesn’t look horrible. That’s looking at him as he is now, not comparing to what what he was.
I think we should be patient and see what comes of this because so far, nothing has come of it except noticeable weight loss.
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Good luck Sean.
I’m a big fan of NCIS, and of Magee, however actors are the most vain people in the world. Not vain in a bad sense, but vain in a sense that they need to sell their image and Sean has already made his mark as Magee , and all his fans remember the image he laid down as Magee, and when you have something that works, with as high ratings as they have, you just don’t mess with them. I have to say he’s detoxing with orgainic vege’s , colon cleansing, and chlorophyll for the blood, like they do at Hippocrates Institute, that has a very high cancer cure rate. You heal the body and the body heals itself. Detoxing the body, to get it to heal itself, requires you to get rid of all toxins, which includes all sugar or anything in the body that’s not alkaline in nature. It makes you get very lean. The kind of lean that doesn’t look good. I knew a few people that used Hippocrates Institiute and they looked like Sean and healed their cancer. So that’s my idea, and I may be very off base.
Thank you for making additions to your findings. It is refreshing to find someone that cares enough to keep looking at the issue or situation and adding information as it is found.
Indeed. Thank you for that outlook…No matter Thick or Thin Magee will be Magee to me
Has anybody noticed his scratchy voice. If, and I say if he has cancer, and has done a holistic healing approach of detoxing the body of all toxins, I think he was aiming at something concerning his vocal box. His voice has changed a lot, and now that he seems stable and has the strength to work, one would assume his t-count isn’t falling and is stable and he’s trying to add weight. This again is all speculative, as I don’t know much about this, only what I’ve read. I wish his well in his recovery, if that in fact is what he’s doing. He’s a great ad lib actor, having the ability to stutter and stammer talking to Gibbs when he thought he made him angry, and then turned around and was able to get witty with Dinozo. The do their lines but a lot of what you see is their own stuff.
Mark Harmon is a team player, and they say since college football or probably before he believed whole-heartedly in family. I’ve read he adamit about keeping the same people if at all possible, and I’ll bet he had something to do with keeping McGee. With luck and patience, McGee’s character will come back to what he was like in season 2, 3, and 4 when he developed his character. Sure is fun to watch the old episodes.
We’ve noticed Sean’s voice this past year more than anything. It’s higher pitched and a little raspy. And when you watch an old episode along with a newer 2012 episode, you can REALLY hear how much it has changed…
I have also been thinking about Harmon’s possible effect on Murray–I’ve noticed that the only time Murray is putting inflection in his voice is when he’s talking to ‘Gibbs’–notice that guys? The rest of the time he’s become deadpan. I started to think that unconsciously Murray is copying Harmon’s ‘Gibbs’ deadpan delivery…kind of like being like a role model. Not sure what to do with that–Harmon’s delivery works for ‘Gibbs’, but I think much of the audience feels like the rug has been pulled out from under us…we knew a very different character named McGee, who is now a completely different person.
Some people like Monica have the gift of putting into words very clearly what they perceive. The perception of the deadpan delivery of Gibbs is a good take on the kind of character Harmom has developed, and you may be right that Murray is trying to duplicate that, knowing that it has worked for Gibbs. The problem is when these actors look in the mirror and develop a grimace or smile or frown, to create an expression or gesture, they’re really making a face that’s selling themselves. The deadpan gesture works for Gibbs because were so used to seeing it, and we’ve come to like it only because he’s backing it up other good gestures, like getting mad, and it’s not a stand only gesture. Murry’s right now is stand alone and if he’d couple it up with other gestures, it would work better as we’d forget about the one deadpan face he’s got for us now. I’m just guessing here, and having fun doing it, but if it were me, I think I’d create a gesture in the mirror and then ask a bunch of friends to see if it worked or not. Murray’s friends would have told him, hey dude, you might want to hold off on that deadpan and either give us something else with it, but don’t let it go out their all on it’s own.
It’s not necessarily is decision. A few years ago Tony’s suits looked like they were a size too small — they were. It was a plot device for the character. I believe MaGee now wears a coat like Gibbs wears, that aspect might have been something Murray wanted to do, but could not on his own.
My favorite McGee moment is when Gibbs has just given Ruby a “good job” and McGee winks at her. Next to that, any time he gives DiNozzo a taste of his own medicine. Great!!
Now that you’ve got me talking about gestures, the one that truely stands out for me is Tony’s. He got a face that says a whole bunch of things. The smile is probably what stands out for most, but his ability to make a whole bunch of faces is what carries his character way beyond most actors. When you have more than one good gesture that looks good to the majority, you got a actor that’s going to be busy. Then of course it takes the right writers to make him famous or not, with good scripts. But then there are guys like Matt Damon in the Bourne Trilogy, and Sylvester Stalone in the Rambo series that don’t make anything but angry, mean, stern, faces with a lot of emotion showing and there particular gestures work. So when standing in front of the mirror, Murray needs to understand he’s asking us to forget all those good gestures he had back with his first face and voice, and buy what he’s giving us now, I think forgetting he’s looks different, and the weight off makes his face, and mainly eyes look more droopy. The shape of his mouth has changed quite a bit too. I still think he needs to add some more gestures, like happy and smiling, but definetely not sad, as that will just add to the listless expressions that make him look out of energy and gaunt.
A heckuva creative team both in front of and behind the camera. How many shows, on this long, have had their ratings go up? Lightning in a bottle
With the show doing not just well, but very well in it’s 7th, 8th, and 9th year the characters I’m sure are being groomed mentally to find a new image, by their own innate objectivity and by the pressures of fame and the famous American way of to keep on keeping on, whichever way you have to, the downside of greed, and who knows maybe the end of the economy, but that’s a different story. Anyhow Ziva has cleaned up her speech to the point it’s far to perfectionist, and noticeable instead of natural, like the old. Sean with his (per the last Tweet), self discovery into no sugar and organics, which in my opinion is great. Heck, millions are doing it, including myself, but to what point. Skinny is good, but too skinny is sickly. If you’ve ever felt the thickness of, even just a couple months of weigh lifting, the self confidence is huge. However, when you get as healthy as Sean is, with his body totally alkaline and with the colon and blood so clean, your mind easily finds bliss, and therefore the reason so many are getting that clean and skinny. The big skinny, (pun intended), from diet makes one so euphoric that I don’t think they notice so much their appearance. I think the high of being that healthy is better than the reality. The only reason I can come to this conclusion is I jucied, as an already vegan, for 6 whole months and as I was turning orange from to many carrots and the caritine, at work I was walking on air and the blueprints I was reading were coming off the page and turning 3D right in front of me. So their is a lot of truth in the euphoria of being real clean and healthy. Not many can get there, so it doesn’t seem doable or even real, but just look at all the skinny people who don’t get that they just don’t look good. Your actually in the best health of your life. Look at yogi’s, who are just skin a bones, but live easily over 100 years. So Sean, even though you feel great, you probably don’t care that your look and old character are in serious trouble of disappearing, and we need you to eat just enough to partially get some of your old character back. Another side effect of being really healthy is you loose some of that old silliness, which defined your old charcater.
I think Sean seems healthier lately and has put on some weight. He is doing more the last few episodes and is even tweeting again. Whatever he is going through/went through is his business. He did lose too much weight but seems to be gaining back some. Hopefully his voice will get better. I wish him luck, he seems like a very sweet, down to earth guy. I just hope people don’t bother him about his health on twitter and drive him away again.
After watching tonight’s NCIS I thought Sean looked better, sounded better and moved better. Love you, McGee.
I know you have lot’s of friends & family who love you and look after you. But, you just don’t look like you feel good. Your voice is so soft and raspy. Weight comes and goes on all of us.We’ve all been there. But, you really didn’t need lose so much. So please take care of yourself. See a doctor,listen to your family so we can continue to enjoy your performances.
Sean Murrey looks like Rock Hudson when he was ill, if thats ‘healthy’ eating I dread to think what a bad diet leaves you looking like!!
I’ve just noticed that “McGee” was getting thinner & thinner pretty much every tme I saw him & was concerned that he was sick. He looks absolutely amazing! But, “cancer” was the first thing that entered my mind. It’s a relief to find out tht he’s NOT ill! I AM still concerned tho about his voice. It sounds like he’s……..straining to talk. He doesn’t have that “boisterous” tember to his voice any more. I say he looks totally, 100% amazing, but, I think he needs to cool it with the dieting! He’s lost enough weight! I thnk he looks fantastic. He needs to STOP dieting already! But, Sean, if you read this, you look amazing & your SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO freakin’ hott & sexy! You’re my favorite NCIS character & I love ya, Stud. But enough with the dieting, okay? I love ya just the way you are! I don’t know if you’ve ever had a Gay fan before, but, you have one now! Robert, 53 from NW Louisiana.
The weight loss is one thing. But, Sean’s voice has gotten weaker every eopisode!
Sorry, don’t buy it………………………..
I have to say, he’s looking a bit stronger these last few episodes. He has more lines, I don’t feel like they’re passing over him anymore. Still, the voice is making me scratch my head. Maybe the loss of weight changed it… but when I watch older episodes versus newer ones I’m always slightly startled by the difference. (0.0)
Something is definitely up with Murray. After the recent years’ weight loss, the now-raspy voice, and his hair color (going grey?), he is going through something that ain’t right. It will all be revealed in time.
No matter what anyone might say, Sean Murrays’ weight loss looks anything but healthy. There is a major difference between losing weight and getting healthier and becomming gaunt, anemic looking and your voice being affected. Those are not things that happen when you get healthy…quite the opposite! There IS something apparently wrong, it’s just amazing that they are not saying anything.
Oh…I forgot this one: A current episode we were watching, I believe, last night…Murray ie. Mcgee looked like he had a toupee on. Hair was similar but darker, and looked to be plastered down on the back of his head. If he does have some problem, he/they should just tell us. Honesty is always the best policy!
Hi, Okay, so he’s looking really gaunt and not very pretty, but really, what in hell is wrong with his vocal chords? That isn’t from a diet ~~~~
One thing you seem to be missing, y’all, is that the writers have practically written him out of the show. He no longer interacts with his buddy Tony, or with anyone else for that matter. He hasn’t changed, he has been drawn into a character who doesn’t even resemble the character he used to be. WHY? Because he can’t do what he did before. Obviously, he is in physical trouble, and in order to help him out, they have taken his character to a place where he can take it easy. I sure wish him the best, and hope we see him return to good health in the coming months. His step-dad and brother are helping him stay involved in spite of his ailment.
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