‘NCIS: Origins’ new Gibbs: Mark Harmon asks Austin Stowell, ‘You ready for this?’

USA TODAY – Even the “NCIS” origin story for Austin Stowell has a Cracker Jack opening.

The impossibly rugged actor, 39, had tried to clear his mind after his February audition for “NCIS: Origins,” the prequel series to the CBS police procedural (premiering Monday, 9 EDT/PDT, after the 22nd season opener of the OG series). After all, these were high stakes seeking the coveted role of young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, famously embodied by Mark Harmon for 19 TV glory-filled seasons. Gibbs is the guy in the “NCIS” universe, even after the iconic character retired to fly-fishing in Alaska when Harmon stepped aside in 2021.

So Stowell went off the grid, skiing with Charlie Jennings, his best friend and agent. It was robust bliss, until Stowell received a miracle message on the reception-patchy mountaintop saying Harmon, an “Origins” executive producer and narrator, wanted to talk.

“Mark wanted to speak to me, and you can guess what about,” says Stowell, who went ski-hill rogue. “We had to get down the mountain and get reliable service ASAP. We race down that hill, take off our gear, jump into the Jeep, and fly down the highway to get reliable service. And we do. Mark calls. We literally pull off the highway.”

Harmon signaled that Stowell would very likely get the role of his younger “NCIS” self in CBS’ “Origins.”

Mark was very complimentary. He said, ‘It’s been you from the second you walked in the room,” Stowell says. “And he asked me, ‘Are you ready for this?'”

Austin Stowell said after ‘Star Wars’ casting disappointment: ‘Onward!’

Oh, he’s ready. Stowell has been prepping for takeoff since earning a guest role in 2010 on “NCIS: Los Angeles” and playing a big-hearted swim champion in two “A Dolphin Tale” movies alongside Kris Kristofferson. (“He was an amazing man, talk about a real-life superhero,” Stowell says. The music legend died last month at age 88).

Stowell even had a serious run at a major “Star Wars” movie role with J.J. Abrams. He was flown to London’s Pinewood Studios and donned the “Star Wars” costume and makeup for a day. But the role went to another actor. “Of course. it’s devastating,” Stowell says. “This is a wonderful job, but the process is tough. But I always have said the same thing when I don’t get a job: ‘Onward.'”

Abrams introduced the actor to his mentor, Steven Spielberg, landing Stowell the role of U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers in Spielberg’s 2015 war drama “Bridge of Spies.” That led to parts like the husband of tennis great Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) in the 1970s tennis drama “Battle of the Sexes” and smoldering Josh Templeman in the 2019 rom-com “The Hating Game,” which paved the way for his front-runner status in the “NCIS: Origins” casting race.

Austin Stowell was hard to reach after ‘NCIS: Origins’ audition: ‘So Gibbs’

After his memorable audition, “Origins” executive producers Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North faced familiar reception issues when they called to officially offer Stowell the role. “He was out in a cabin in the middle of the woods with no internet and almost missed our call,” North says. “I got off the phone and said, ‘That’s so Gibbs.'”

Says Stowell: “One phone call that changes your life. And two phone calls that I nearly missed. But the Hollywood gods were looking out for me.”

Monreal says his physical likeness to Harmon was important. But “Origins” places Gibbs in 1991 as a green Naval Investigative Service officer at California’s Camp Pendleton, where the former Marine sniper deals with the murder of his wife and daughter. That required a presence that Stowell, who can turn on full Gibbs with one soulful-eyed look, inhabited.

“In this ‘Origins’ moment, Gibbs is broken,” Monreal says. “We had to find someone who exuded that energy. That was just as difficult as the physical piece of this character.”

In “Origins,” Gibbs is far from the ultra-competent special agent in command. He’s an unsteady newbie dealing with his trauma after failing his psychological evaluations. It was this raw premise, based on “NCIS” lore, that made Harmon’s son Sean, who had played the young Gibbs in “NCIS” flashbacks, pitch “Origins.” (He’s now an executive producer.)

Young Gibbs has immediate “Origins” supporters, including Special Agent Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) and his eventual mentor Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), whose power mustache is a scene stealer. “He’s electric,” Stowell says. “I already joke with him that we are going to see Franks’ mustaches at Halloween parties.”

Stowell dived into research, reading 1980 U.S. Marine manuals to understand the life and taking long runs with a weighted-down backpack. He stepped up the rifle training he learned in 2018’s Chris Hemsworth-led Afghanistan war film “12 Strong” to look silently confident with Gibbs’ rifle. Stowell still binge-watches “NCIS” episodes to pick up small mannerisms.

“I want to embody his essence. There are Gibbs-isms,” Stowell says. “There is a head nod and he has this stare.”

That stare, and Harmon’s intense blue eyes, are so pivotal that Stowell wears blue contact lenses over his naturally green eyes. Seeing the world that way changes his perspective: “They make me feel different,” he says. “They’re such a powerful tool.”

Harmon appears near a campfire in the “Origins” opening. The camera zooms up close on his stare, which morphs into Stowell’s haunted look.

“It’s not the passing of the throne; Mark Harmon has the throne,” Stowell says. “If it’s the passing of the torch, he lit the torch. It’s my job to show how this kid becomes that guy that people admire so much. But I get to play one of the world’s greatest heroes. And that’s pretty rock and roll.”


Austin Stowell is emotional about playing stoic Jethro Gibbs in ’NCIS: Origins’

TORONTO SUN – Once again, Austin Stowell is having the best day ever — all thanks to him winning the role of legendary TV character Leroy Jethro Gibbs in “NCIS: Origins.”

“Since I got this job, it has just been day after day after day of the greatest day of my life,” says Stowell, smiling.

The actor has his shoulders back and chest up to portray the ex-Marine-turned-naval investigator, set 25 years before audiences first met “NCIS” star Mark Harmon.

Harmon and his son Sean are behind the idea of this origin story of the special agent, who was on-screen for 19 seasons from 2003 to 2021, solving crimes for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Virginia.

Stowell says he’ll be doing his best to live up to the role Harmon made famous and give viewers a new perspective on “how the hero was born.”

Harmon, who narrates and pops up occasionally in the show, has been very supportive of Stowell, making himself available to chat about life, visiting the set and even texting (something technophobic Gibbs would never).

“Mark and I talk a lot about what it means to be the leader of a team, about what it means to be a leader of this set and crew,” he says. “Those conversations have been invaluable to me because I don’t know what it’s like. I’ve never been No. 1 on a TV show before.”

The lessons he’s learned: be on time, be kind, respectful and professional.

He’s also studied up on the “NCIS” universe, something he knew about but wasn’t yet a super fan.

In a pop quiz Stowell correctly names all the franchise’s four spinoff shows and only stumbles when it comes to rule three of Gibbs’ famous guidelines: “Never believe what you are told.”

(He keeps the full list to read from time to time.)

As for the enduring audience appeal of Gibbs, Stowell reckons it comes down to his humanity.

“Gibbs doesn’t wear a cape. He just has to use his brain and use his heart. I would argue that that makes him the most super of the heroes because it’s real. It’s something that we can all accomplish.”

“NCIS: Origins” isn’t just the procedural that people know and love, says Stowell, despite it having all the crime-solving and fun banter of the franchise.

Article content
“This is much more in the vein of a ‘True Detective’ or, you know, a darker crime piece. And that creates some, what could be uncomfortable situations on set. Very often I find myself kind of in a dark corner.”

His co-stars and fellow NIS investigators (the C hadn’t been added in 1991 when the show starts) include Mariel Molino as Lala Dominguez and Caleb Foote’s Randy.

It’s Gibbs’ first job since leaving the Marines. He’s got personal trauma and a big reputation, but he’s also got the sniper focus and built-in lie detector needed to be an integral part of this mystery solving team based at Camp Pendleton, headed up by Kyle Schmid’s charismatic Mike Franks.

“I just got to play this for the first time … the other night where I look at a character and I just go, ‘You know, don’t you?’ And just get to bury them in my eyes,” Stowell says, laughing.

Article content
Those eyes have been enhanced by special contact lenses to provide the correct “Mark Harmon crystal blue.”

“NCIS: Origins,” which debuts Monday on CBS, has been shooting for three and half months. In that time Stowell has come to realize the parallels between himself and Gibbs, a character who mistrusts technology, loves nature and spends years building a boat in his basement.

When he got the call about getting the part, Stowell was off grid in Vermont.

“I’m very much an analog person, so I’m very comfortable in this 1991 world where the reliance is on conversations and relationships as opposed to Siri and Alexa.”

Has Stowell learned to trust his gut, Gibbs’ style?

“I read the pilot and immediately connected with who this guy was. And so my gut has told me that this is where I’ve been meant to be from the start,” he says, on the verge of tears.

“There is something that has awoken inside of me, almost like it was the character I’ve been waiting to play my whole life.”


NCIS: Origins’ New Gibbs Has An Even Greater Chance To Be Better Than Mark Harmon’s Version

September 10, 2024   No Comment   Austin Stowell, NCIS: Origins, Projects

SCREEN RANT – The Leroy Jethro Gibbs of NCIS: Origins may be better than the original, thanks to one detail about the upcoming prequel spinoff. In 2024, the NCIS franchise announced that it would launch a prequel series to explore the backstory of central NCIS character Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The series will flash back to 1991, when Gibbs was getting his start at NIS (later NCIS). It was a pivotal time for the former gunnery sergeant, coinciding with what happened to Gibbs’ wife and daughter in NCIS. As such, NCIS: Origins will hone in on an emotional time in the character’s life.

While NCIS revealed Gibbs’ traumatic past, the prequel series will further explore how it affected his career change. The shift in Gibbs’ life at the time was inspired by his NIS partner and mentor, Mike Franks, who Muse Watson played in the original series. Kyle Schmid’s Mike Franks will join Austin Stowell’s Gibbs for the prequel series, as the character is necessary for the former Marine’s transition. The NCIS: Origins cast also features some new faces, but Gibbs is the focal point — and this version of him could be more interesting than Mark Harmon’s.

Austin Stowell’s Gibbs In NCIS: Origins Will Be More Emotional Than Mark Harmon’s

Gibbs Was Processing Trauma In 1991
In an Entertainment Weekly preview of the fall 2024-2025 TV season, the outlet shared a quote from Stowell about how NCIS: Origins’ Gibbs will compare to Harmon’s. Stowell confirmed that his version of the character will drastically differ from the version of Gibbs that audiences are used to seeing after Harmon’s 19 seasons on NCIS. Stowell explained that his Gibbs will be going through a painful transition, recovering from a tragedy he experienced four months before the series picks up. The prequel star said that his character is “not the guy fans are used to.”

What the Gibbs star revealed aligns with what is already known about the NCIS: Origins timeline. The series will pick up just a few months after Gibbs’ wife and daughter are killed in 1991, and Stowell’s description of his character makes sense given his grief. It’ll be fascinating to see NCIS: Origins elaborate on the tragedy revealed in “Hiatus,” one of the best episodes of NCIS. And with Stowell’s take on the NCIS character showing such a different side of him, he actually has an even better chance of winning audiences over.

NCIS: Origins premieres on CBS on Monday, October 14, at 9 p.m. ET.