Origins’ new Gibbs Austin Powell, series return
PASADENA, Calif. – Mark Harmon has witnessed the star power of Austin Stowell, who will play a younger version of his popular character Leroy Jethro Gibbs in “NCIS: Origins.”
Harmon, executive producer of the prequel spinoff series “NCIS,” was in the room when Stowell first auditioned for the role of young Gibbs around 1991. His colleague, “NCIS: Origins” executive producer Gina Lucita Monreal, was “blown away” when the “The Hating Game” star came to audition alongside dozens of other applicants, Harmon said.
“I joked that Gina fainted, but the truth is she did. She may deny it, but it was true,” Harmon told USA TODAY at the Television Critics Association on Saturday. “And when (Stowell) left the room, she said, ‘Now this guy is a star!'”
The “NCIS” franchise will need that star quality when Stowell, 39, takes on the lead role in “NCIS: Origins,” which premieres Oct. 14 on CBS. The spinoff will air Monday nights after the mothership “NCIS,” which begins its 22nd season.
The new Gibbs from “NCIS” Austin Stowell will play the younger version of Mark Harmon’s character in “NCIS: Origins”
Harmons Gibbs became a “NCIS” star when the CBS series premiered in 2003. The former U.S. Marine Corps scout sniper turned special agent commanded his NCIS team for 18 years on CBS until Harmon’s final episode in October 2021.
What role does Mark Harmon play in “NCIS: Origins”?
Harmon, 72, is not only executive producer of “NCIS: Origins,” but will also serve as narrator of the series, which follows young Gibbs as a newly minted special agent in the fledgling NCIS office at Camp Pendleton, about twelve years before “NCIS.”
“I’m happy with the background role and letting the (new) cast do the work,” Harmon said of his role behind the scenes. “I’m happy to be a part of it. I’m a distant part. I’m just here to support.”
During Harmon’s time on “NCIS,” the role of young Gibbs was often played in flashbacks by Sean Harmon, the actor’s real-life son, who came up with the idea for the spin-off series while filming “NCIS.”” Episode 400 in 2020.
“It was a lightning bolt moment. Gibbs is a guy who had something broken inside him, a guy who at one point could have gone down a darker path,” said Sean Harmon. In “NCIS: Origins,” Gibbs will inform television audiences about the traumatic loss of his wife and child early in his career.
Did Mark Harmon’s son Sean want to play young Gibbs in “NCIS: Origins”?
“On ‘NCIS,’ Gibbs had 30 years to process the trauma,” said Sean Harmon. “But on ‘NCIS: Origins,’ he’s a guy who has no answers and still lives through all the trauma.”
Sean, 36, insisted he never wanted to play the role of Gibbs full-time after NCIS.
“It was an absolute honor to take on this role; it will always be close to my heart,” he said. “To be honest, I never intended to make a career out of it.”
During the TCA presentation, there was debate about who exactly fainted when Stowell came in to audition. David North, the executive producer of “NCIS” and “NCIS: Origins,” insisted he was the one who got weak in the knees over Stowell.
“To be clear,” Stowell finally ended the debate jokingly: “Someone fainted.”
Stowell said it will be a different, younger Gibbs, dealing with the loss of his wife and child. “This is not the Gibbs the world knows. This is someone who is devastated and searching for his identity,” Stowell said. “During screen tests, Mark came up to me and gave me two words I will never forget – ‘Trust yourself.'”
After a week of filming, Stowell said he felt like baseball hero Lou Gehrig, who “said he felt like the luckiest man in the world,” Stowell said. “That’s how I feel here. It’s only Week 1. But we’re doing something very special here.”
Will Mark Harmon ever return to “NCIS”?
When Harmon spoke to reporters after the TCA panel, he was asked if he would ever bring the retired Gibbs back to “NCIS.”
“I don’t know. It’s really about feeling like you’ve fulfilled a role,” Harmon said. “I’ve always let the writers do what they want.”
When asked if he had been invited back to “NCIS,” even if just for a guest appearance, Harmon said, “Not that I know of. But I just changed agents, so who knows?”
In his final “NCIS” scene, Gibbs stayed in Alaska to fish after solving one last case while Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and the crew returned to Washington, D.C. Harmon said he didn’t know where Gibbs was now.
“I don’t think he’s still in the creek,” Harmon said. “Other than that, I don’t know. Maybe Alaska. I was just honored that (Gibbs) found a peace that he hadn’t known in a long time. It just made sense.”
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