Why Hollace Kilbride From NCIS: Los Angeles Looks So Familiar

Working undercover to keep the world safe. It's the work that Sam Hanna (LL Cool J), G. Callen (Chris O'Donnell), and their team have been doing for 14 seasons on the hit crime drama "NCIS: Los Angeles." And while there is plenty of action, there is also plenty of heart, with characters like Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt), Eric Beale (Barrett Foa), and Retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride (Gerald McRaney) stealing scenes and making jokes along the way.

Killbride is introduced in Season 6, Episode 4, "The 3rd Choir," which finds him trying to stop Hetty from going back home after she leaves a Congressional hearing. Since then, his tough exterior and soft heart has been on full display. And while he's a serious man, he's known to give the audience a laugh every now and then, even going to war with his doctor over the idea of giving up gluten in Season 13, Episode 14, "Pandora's Box."

But this isn't McRaney's first time playing a tough crime-solver who is known to crack a few jokes. Here is why Hollace Kilbride looks so familiar.

Gerald McRaney has been taking the small screen by storm since the late 1960s. During the 1970s, he would appear on classic shows like "The Waltons," "Mannix," "Gunsmoke," and "CHiPs." But 1981 would find him playing half of a popular crime-fighting duo known as "Simon & Simon." McRaney played Rick Simon, a Vietnam War veteran who runs a detective agency with his brother A.J. (Jameson Parker). The show aired for eight seasons and even crossed over into "Magnum P.I.," with the team helping Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman) solve crime in 1982.

The show's final episode aired in 1989. However, the Simon brothers would be on the case once again when the TV movie "Simon & Simon: In Trouble Again" aired in 1995. In 2015, McRaney explained to Parade why he thinks the show has long-term appeal. "I think it was two guys having fun with what we did ... We just had a ball making that show. I think the fun we had translated for fun for the audience," he said.

While crime dramas have become a staple of Gerald McRaney's career, he's been known to work on a few sitcoms every now and again. That includes "Major Dad," which found McRaney playing Major John D. MacGillis, a marine who falls for a reporter and helps her raise her three children. The show made audiences laugh for four seasons.

McRaney told The Hollywood Reporter that this was an opportunity that came his way shortly after "Simon & Simon," and it's a role that he is still recognized for decades later. "There was actually a lot of criticism when I was on 'Deadwood,' like 'Why did they hire Major Dad for this part?' No, it was a great show and experience. Funny enough, 'Simon & Simon' went off the air in 1989 and 'Major Dad' went on the same year. I had a whole three months off. I was also an EP on 'Dad,' and I remember getting script pages sent to me on my honeymoon in Europe," he said.

He has since continued to play small roles in several sitcoms. Some may recall his role as Jim Collins on "Coach" in Season 7, Episode 17, "The Walk-On." Others may remember his recurring role as Captain Patrick Murphy during Season 3 of "Mike & Molly."

Dramatic and action-packed projects continue to be Gerald McRaney's bread and butter. McRaney played Sergeant Major Charvis Krohn during Season 6 of "JAG." He would later take his tough exterior to the big screen by playing General Morrison in the 2010 film adaptation of the "A-Team," which included Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Biel. In 2012, he would work alongside Terrence Howard in "Red Tails," which tells the story of the Tuskegee Airman during World War II.

However, his heart-tugging role in the family drama "This is Us" would earn him the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2017. He received the award for his work as Dr. Nathan Katowski in Season 1, Episode 12, "The Big Day," which finds Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) preparing for Rebecca to give birth. Dr. Katowski delivers the Pearson siblings, and he's there for Rebecca during Season 6, Episode 17, "The Train." 

The episode finds Rebecca saying goodbye to her family, and Moore loved that Dr. Katowski was on that train. She told Variety, "I just have felt this intrinsic connection with him [McRaney], like, from the jump of this show ... I just thought it was so fitting that he was there to sort of usher her into this next chapter of her life and also was the one to give her permission to sort of move forward," she said.