Does the Actress Who Plays Delilah on 'NCIS' Really Use a Wheelchair? Details

On occasion, TV shows and movies might find that an actor’s injury or condition, like a pregnancy, aligns perfectly with a character’s storyline. It doesn’t happen often, but it can. For instance, Lisa Kudrow’s real-life pregnancy was written into the script for her character Phoebe Buffay during Season 4 of Friends.

So when viewers saw Delilah Fielding-McGee (played by Margo Harshman) in a wheelchair during an episode of NCIS Season 22, they had to ask: Does Margo really use a wheelchair in real life? Her character’s story goes back far in the NCIS universe, and an event in Season 11 explains why Delilah now uses a wheelchair. Here's the backstory, and whether Margo also relies on one off-screen.

No, the person who plays Delilah on NCIS, Margo Harshman, does not use a wheelchair in real life. In fact, Margo doesn't rely on any mobility aid. The only publicly known hardship she’s faced is the heartbreaking loss of her mother, Janelle Harshman, who died on May 14, 2014, after a 20-year battle with breast cancer, per IMDb.

As for her NCIS character, Delilah, she does use a wheelchair, but that’s due to a tragic event. Delilah, who works for the Department of Defense, became paralyzed from the waist down after being injured in an explosion. While some fans are just now noticing Delilah’s wheelchair or becoming curious about it, this storyline actually dates back to Season 11, Episode 12, titled "Double Back."

In that episode, Delilah is honored for her work in counter-terrorism at a gala that tragically ends in a bombing. By Episode 13, "Homesick," she undergoes surgery, and doctors confirm she’s paralyzed due to shrapnel damaging her spinal cord. At the time, Delilah was dating Special Agent Tim McGee (Sean Murray), and despite the tragedy, their relationship only grew stronger, paving a way for them to tie the knot in Season 12.

Now, although Delilah’s wheelchair use doesn’t reflect the actor's real-life circumstances, the storyline itself was inspired by a real-world event. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, NCIS executive producer Gary Glasberg revealed that Delilah’s injury was influenced by the tragic Boston Marathon bombing that took place in April 2013.

While many fans know Margo from her role as Delilah, the brilliant intelligence analyst on NCIS since 2013, she’s actually been in the acting industry for a long time and held some pretty iconic roles along the way. Remember Even Stevens?

Yep, Margo played Tawny Dean, Louis Stevens’s best friend on the beloved Disney Channel series. Not only were Tawny and Louis (played by Shia LaBeouf) close on-screen, but Margo and Shia briefly dated in real life. In fact, Shia revealed during a 2020 interview with W Magazine that Margo was his first kiss, and it happened right on the Even Stevens set!

Margo has also appeared in a variety of film and television roles over the years, including College Road Trip (2008), Fired Up! (2009), House (2012), Bones (2013), and more recently, Exposure (2023). She married Austin Hooks in 2017, but the marriage was short-lived as the couple filed for divorce just a year later in 2018.