Rocky Carroll net worth 2026 is estimated at about $8.9 million, with a plausible range of roughly $3.8 million to $16.1 million. That is an estimate, not a confirmed number, because the actor has never published his finances. Other sites say $4 million or $10 million, and both sit inside our range.
The timing matters. After 18 seasons as NCIS Director Leon Vance, Carroll’s character was killed off on March 24, 2026, in the show’s 500th episode. This guide covers the career behind Rocky Carroll net worth, what the exit means for his income, and the math, with every assumption labeled.
Quick Facts: Rocky Carroll Net Worth and Bio
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Roscoe “Rocky” Carroll |
| Date of birth / age | July 8, 1963; 63 |
| Birthplace | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Actor, director |
| Known for | Director Leon Vance on NCIS; Chicago Hope; Roc |
| Estimated net worth | About $8.9 million (estimated range $3.8M to $16.1M) |
| Income sources | TV salary, directing fees, residuals, voice work |
| Relationship status | Married to Gabrielle Bullock since 1996 |
| Children | One daughter |
| Height | Not reliably confirmed |
Who Is Rocky Carroll?
Rocky Carroll is an American actor and television director born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 8, 1963. Most viewers know him as Leon Vance, the NCIS director who anchored the CBS procedural from 2008 until the character’s death in March 2026.
Before that he was a classically trained stage actor, a Tony nominee, and a regular on two hit network shows, Roc and Chicago Hope. His career is a quiet example of what steady work in television looks like: not a single breakout, but decades of reliable roles. That steadiness is the key to Rocky Carroll net worth.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Carroll was born Roscoe Carroll and grew up in Cincinnati. According to Wikipedia, he graduated in 1981 from the city’s School for Creative and Performing Arts, then earned a fine arts degree from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University in St. Louis, which gave him an honorary degree in 2009.
After college he moved to New York and worked with Joe Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival. Early stage pay was modest, so Rocky Carroll net worth in those years was small. IBDB lists his Broadway work in the 1986 to 1987 revivals of Macbeth, As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet, where he played several small parts and served as fight captain.
His breakthrough came with August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Carroll played Lymon in the original Broadway cast, which ran from April 16, 1990, to January 27, 1991. According to IBDB’s profile of Rocky Carroll, he was a 1990 Tony Award nominee for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Drama Desk nominee, and he received the Theatre World Award.
Wikipedia lists his film debut as Born on the Fourth of July in 1989, and his stage training stayed with him through a long run of screen roles.
Another performer who moved between Broadway and television is Vanessa Williams.
Career and Rise to Fame
Television made Carroll a household face. From 1991 to 1994 he played Joey Emerson on Fox’s Roc, appearing in 72 episodes, according to Wikipedia. He then joined CBS’s Chicago Hope as Dr. Keith Wilkes, a role Wikipedia credits with 96 episodes between 1996 and 2000.
Chicago Hope was the first big step in Rocky Carroll net worth, and it earned him two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, in 1997 and 1998, as part of the ensemble. He was also nominated for NAACP Image Awards in 1998 and 1999 for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Smaller credits piled up: The Agency (45 episodes), ER, Boston Legal, The Game and Grey’s Anatomy, where he joined other actors such as Jeffrey Dean Morgan who have a Grey’s credit.
He also did voice work, including Gargoyles in the 1990s and DC animated films such as Justice League: War and The Death of Superman.
Director Leon Vance on NCIS
Carroll arrived on NCIS in Season 5 as Assistant Director Leon Vance, first appearing in the episode “Internal Affairs.” He became a series regular in Season 6, after Jenny Shepard’s death, and played the character for 18 seasons, according to TV Insider. Wikipedia credits him with more than 390 episodes, and some listings say 19 seasons, but the TV Insider and Variety coverage says 18.
The show reunited him with his Chicago Hope co-stars Mark Harmon and Lauren Holly. Vance also crossed over into NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans and NCIS: Hawai’i.
Directing
Carroll began directing NCIS in 2015 with the Season 12 episode “We Build, We Fight.” Wikipedia’s credits list more than 30 NCIS episodes directed, and Looper reported that he also directed a 2020 episode of Magnum P.I.
Directing matters for Rocky Carroll net worth because it pays separately from acting. It also gives him a career path that does not depend on playing Vance.
The NCIS Exit
Vance’s story ended on March 24, 2026, in “All Good Things,” the show’s 500th episode. In the storyline, NCIS is shut down and Vance fights to save the agency. He is shot after defusing a bomb, according to TV Insider’s report on his exit.
Carroll said leaving was not his choice. He told TV Insider that the studio and network wanted a big storyline, and that he thought it was “a terrific story.” He also told Variety that most Hollywood careers do not last 18 years. Wikipedia says he will keep directing for the show, though the coverage we reviewed did not confirm that.
What does the exit mean for Rocky Carroll net worth? The weekly acting paycheck from Vance ends, which slows income growth. Directing fees, reruns and residuals may continue, and the exit does not erase 18 years of savings. No contract or severance details are public, so we have not tried to price them.
Rocky Carroll Net Worth in 2026
Rocky Carroll’s net worth is estimated at about $8.9 million in 2026, with a plausible range of roughly $3.8 million to $16.1 million. This is an estimate, not a confirmed figure.
Published figures vary. Looper’s December 2021 profile said “at least $4 million,” drawn from aggregator sites, and noted that one of those sites said $5 million. Taddlr says $10 million with a $750,000 yearly salary but shows no method. Neither is a primary source, and neither accounts for the March 2026 exit.
The $10 million claim is worth testing. If a $750,000 yearly salary were accurate across 18 seasons, gross pay would be about $13.5 million, so keeping $10 million would mean keeping roughly three-quarters after taxes, commissions and living costs. That is unlikely, which is why our Rocky Carroll net worth estimate lands lower.
Here is how we built the Rocky Carroll net worth estimate. We estimated what each major stream could have paid, added them up, then subtracted taxes, agent and manager commissions and living costs over a four-decade career. Every pay figure below is our assumption. The only public per-episode number we found is an unverified $100,000 claim for 2010, relayed by Looper.
| Stream | Our assumption | Conservative | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCIS series pay (about 390 episodes) | $35K to $85K per episode | $13.65M | $33.15M |
| Pre-NCIS TV and film (Roc, Chicago Hope, The Agency, films, guest roles) | Lump sum | $3.8M | $8.5M |
| NCIS directing (30+ episodes) | $25K to $60K per episode | $0.75M | $1.8M |
| Spin-off and guest appearances | Lump sum | $0.2M | $0.5M |
| Residuals and voice work | Lump sum | $0.5M | $2.0M |
| Estimated lifetime gross | about $18.9M | about $46.0M |
Next comes retention, the share of gross income actually kept after commissions, taxes and spending. We use 20% in the conservative case, 27.5% in the middle and 35% in the high case. That gives roughly $3.8 million, $8.9 million and $16.1 million.
If you want the full method, here is how we calculate net worth on Snoopstats.
The NCIS row is the biggest swing factor in any Rocky Carroll net worth estimate. A lower per-episode fee in the early recurring years pulls the estimate down, while raises in later seasons push it up. The exit also adds uncertainty: acting paychecks end, but directing fees and reruns may continue.
Rocky Carroll Net Worth: Income Sources
Series pay. NCIS acting is almost certainly the largest part of Rocky Carroll net worth. A series regular is paid per episode, and a typical network season runs about two dozen episodes. Over 18 seasons, even a modest fee adds up.
Directing. Directors are paid per episode and often have separate contracts. Carroll’s 30-plus directed episodes make this a real second stream.
Residuals and syndication. Residuals are payments actors receive when a show reruns or streams. Long-running shows like NCIS, Chicago Hope and Roc can keep paying for years, though amounts vary by contract.
Earlier TV and film. Roc, Chicago Hope, The Agency, Crimson Tide and The Ladies Man all paid at the time. Those years likely built his early savings.
Voice work. He voiced characters in animated series and DC animated films, which typically pay less than on-camera roles.
Endorsements. Taddlr lists a Ford endorsement, but we found no confirmation, so we did not count it.
Want to see how your own wealth compares? Try our How Rich Am I calculator.
Rocky Carroll Net Worth Comparison
How does Carroll compare with his NCIS co-stars? The figures below are CelebrityNetworth estimates, and they use different dates and methods.
| Actor | Connection | Estimated net worth |
|---|---|---|
| Rocky Carroll | The subject | About $8.9 million (our range: $3.8M to $16.1M) |
| Mark Harmon | NCIS lead (page modified Oct 2026) | $120 million |
| Sean Murray | NCIS co-star (page modified Mar 2026) | $25 million |
| Wilmer Valderrama | NCIS co-star | $20 million (the page’s meta says $18 million) |
| Brian Dietzen | NCIS co-star (page last modified 2015) | $2 million |
On Rocky Carroll net worth, he lands in the middle of the group. CelebrityNetworth credits Harmon with a far higher per-episode fee than anything we can support for Carroll, which fits the gap between a lead and a supporting regular. Dietzen’s figure comes from a page last modified in 2015, so it is probably out of date.
Another veteran whose estimate looks different is Bruce Greenwood, who built his career in film and TV rather than on one network show.
Personal Life
Carroll married Gabrielle Bullock in 1996, according to Wikipedia, and they have one daughter. Several sites list the daughter’s name and a house in New York, but we found no reliable confirmation of either, so we have left them out.
Taddlr gives his birth year as 1973, which would make him 53. Wikipedia and IBDB both say July 8, 1963, which makes him 63. The 1963 date matches his 1981 high school graduation, so we treat 1973 as an error.
He remains private, and there is little public detail about his home life, so personal life adds nothing we can measure to Rocky Carroll net worth.
Lifestyle and Public Image
Carroll’s public image is that of a versatile character actor rather than a celebrity-circuit name. Looper has described him as a singer and dancer as well as an actor, and his Roc role showed off his trumpet playing. His career mixes Shakespeare, Broadway, network TV and directing.
He is not a tabloid figure. We found no widely reported spending sprees, lawsuits or scandals in the sources we reviewed. That is one reason Rocky Carroll net worth figures are hard to pin down.
His exit interviews show the same calm, practical style, with Carroll telling Variety that most Hollywood careers do not last 18 years.
Another long-running TV actor is Michael Gross, who spent years on a hit network sitcom.
People Also Ask
What is Rocky Carroll net worth in 2026?
Rocky Carroll net worth is estimated at about $8.9 million in 2026, with a plausible range of $3.8 million to $16.1 million. Other sites say $4 million or $10 million. It is an estimate because he has not disclosed his finances.
Why did Rocky Carroll leave NCIS?
He said leaving was not his choice. He told TV Insider that the studio and network wanted a big storyline, and Vance was killed off in the 500th episode on March 24, 2026.
Did Rocky Carroll die on NCIS?
His character did. Director Leon Vance is shot after defusing a bomb in the episode “All Good Things.” Carroll is alive, and he remains an actor and director.
How old is Rocky Carroll?
He is 63. Wikipedia and IBDB list his birth date as July 8, 1963, in Cincinnati, Ohio. One site lists 1973, which appears to be an error.
How many episodes of NCIS was Rocky Carroll in?
Wikipedia lists more than 390 episodes across 18 seasons, starting in Season 5 in 2008. He also appeared in three spin-offs.
Does Rocky Carroll direct NCIS?
Yes. He began directing in 2015 and Wikipedia lists more than 30 episodes. Wikipedia says he will keep directing for the show, though the coverage we reviewed did not confirm that.
Was Rocky Carroll nominated for a Tony Award?
Yes. According to IBDB, he was nominated in 1990 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for The Piano Lesson. He did not win, but he did receive the Theatre World Award.
Who is Rocky Carroll married to?
He has been married to Gabrielle Bullock since 1996, according to Wikipedia. They have one daughter.
How did Rocky Carroll net worth grow, and what did he make per episode on NCIS?
It is not public. Looper relayed an unverified claim of $100,000 per episode in 2010. We assume a lower average across the full run.
What was Rocky Carroll in before NCIS?
He starred in Roc from 1991 to 1994 and played Dr. Keith Wilkes on Chicago Hope from 1996 to 2000. He also appeared in The Agency, Crimson Tide and several animated projects.
Will leaving NCIS change Rocky Carroll net worth?
Not as an actor. Vance died in March 2026, which ends his acting paychecks from the show. Wikipedia says he will continue directing, but we could not confirm that from other coverage, and no contract details are public.
Related Net Worth Profiles
Every profile on Snoopstats separates what is documented from what is estimated. The Rocky Carroll net worth 2026 profile shows why: other websites quote a flat number, from $4 million to $10 million, with no method, so we show our reasoning and label each assumption.
For more fact-checked, sourced profiles of actors, athletes and public figures, visit Snoopstats.
