NCIS Star Was Rushed To ER Because Of Her Iconic Look

Summary:

• NCIS is a CBS procedural TV series that has given the start to the whole franchise of the same name.
• Abby Sciuto was one of the original team members, known for her alternative look and intelligence.
• Pauley Perrette, later admitted that she was once rushed to the ER because of the hair dye.

Getting into acting and getting a big role on TV or in a movie is hard enough. You have to worry about a lot of things standing in your way, from endless lines at auditions with insane competition to trying to survive dabbling in a part-time job with acting aspirations.

But for some actors, the horrors don't begin until they enter the magical world of filmmaking, because it's not as wonderful as it may seem from the outside. The actor, as someone who's supposed to embody another person on screen in the most believable way possible, is constantly being asked to change.

While some have to lose or gain weight or even undergo surgery to look younger than they naturally would, others' changes aren't as drastic. But even these little things can put someone in a life-threatening condition if they're not done right.

Pauley Perrette, the actress known to TV viewers as Abby Sciuto from CBS' hit NCIS, once shared how the experience of transforming into the character nearly killed her. A box of black hair dye that millions of other people use every day was to blame for an unfortunate turn of events.

What Happened To NCIS’ Pauley Perrette

It may come as a shock to some viewers, but Perrette's natural hair color is not black, or even close. Being a blonde forced the actress to dye her hair for the role, as it was a requirement for Abby. The idea was to create and portray the characters with an alternative look that didn't really match their expectations.

Abby Sciuto was a very professional and extremely smart forensic scientist on the team, despite her gothic fashion sense. A character like that hadn't been seen on television before, and that's what made her so popular with fans. But it was also what made her risk her own life.

At first, the actress noticed a small rash but decided to ignore it because it didn't seem like anything of great importance. But later, as she explained in an interview with Queen Latifah, the symptoms got worse and worse.

“So, on that day, I dyed my hair. It was the first day back shooting on NCIS. <...> [I] woke up the next morning and my head was getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. So it took 48 hours for it to sink in, but by the time I got to the hospital, half my head was this big, the other half of my head was this big, my eyes were swollen shut, and I was like, ‘People need to see this.’”

Perrette was very open about her journey with this sudden allergic reaction, sharing the details of it on social media. Later on, she also admitted to looking for all kinds of alternatives to the dye that she used.

From sprays that wash out completely, to dyes with more organic ingredients, Pauley Perrette had to go through a lot of struggle to continue filming without any more spontaneous trips to ER.

If you are feeling nostalgic and want to go back to the good old days of friendly banter between NCIS’ Abby Sciuto and Gibbs, you can stream the show on Netflix or Paramount Plus.

Source: Queen Latifah