Although Sean Harmon portrayed a younger Leroy Jethro Gibbs in multiple episodes of NCIS, he won’t be doing so again for the upcoming prequel NCIS: Origins. Instead, he’s executive producing the series alongside his father, Mark Harmon, the original Gibbs actor, and Austin Stowell will play the Gibbs we’re following along with in 1991 a few months after his first wife Shannon and their daughter Kelly were murdered. Ahead of Origins’ arrival to the 2024 TV schedule, Stowell recalled how he nearly missed learning he’d been cast in the CBS prequel, and Gibbs would be proud of what happened.
In an interview with EW, the Bridge of Spies and The Hating Game actor shared that after doing an initial reading, he flew to Los Angeles to do an official audition for NCIS: Origins in front of Mark and Sean Harmon, as well as fellow executive producers David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal. After taking some direction from the elder Harmon, who was ultimately impressed with how Stowell did, the new Gibbs actor went back home to Vermont. One month later, he came close to missing the call informing him that he’d nabbed the role that Stephen Amell also auditioned for, with Stowell explaining:
Where I live is off the grid a bit. I walked back into the house, just got back on to service again, and there was a phone call coming through. So, truly, two minutes before then, I wouldn't have gotten the call. And it was David and Gina and they were telling me that, essentially, my life was about to change.
Considering how much Leroy Jethro Gibbs loves spending time in nature, to the point that he made his last present-day appearance in NCIS Season 19’s fourth episode when he found peace in the Alaskan wilderness, Austin Stowell almost missing the good news about NCIS: Origins because he was out in an area of nature without cell reception is so great. The irony isn’t lost on David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal either, with the former saying they “laughed so hard about that.” No doubt other attempts would have been made to call Stowell to let him know he’d be playing Origins’ lead, but it’s still good that he was able to pick up on the first try.
In addition to Austin Stowell playing the younger Gibbs, Mark Harmon will also narrate the new series as the older Gibbs, who’s now been retired from NCIS for several years. Stowell is joined in NCIS: Origins’ main cast by Kyle Schmid as Mike Franks, Mariel Molino as Lala Dominguez, Tyla Abercrumbie as Mary Jo Sullivan and Diany Rodriguez as Vera Strickland. The lineup of recurring characters includes Caleb Martin Foote as Benjamin “Randy” Randolf and Robert Taylor as Jackson Gibbs, Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ father who was previously played by the late Ralph Waite on NCIS.
NCIS: Origins’ extended premiere, titled “Enter Sandman,” will air Monday, October 14 immediately after the first episode of NCIS Season 22. New episodes from both shows will be available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription following their airing on CBS, and the platform will also be the exclusive home of the upcoming spinoff NCIS: Tony & Ziva.