Despite NCIS: Hawai’i landing on the long list of shows that were canceled in 2024, another chapter from the CBS crime drama is opening via the prequel spinoff NCIS: Origins, which will bring a whopping two Leroy Gibbs to the Fall TV schedule. (At least in the series premiere.) Fans are waiting to see Mark Harmon finally reprise the role years after he first left, while also anticipating franchise newbie Austin Stowell as a younger iteration of the Special Agent.
Fans should be pleased to know that Harmon was involved in the casting process that landed Stowell in the key lead role, as well as the various other characters we’ll see popping up, both familiar and non. In fact, the Summer School vet had only compliments for the Origins actor ahead of what could be his biggest gig to date. As Harmon put it to People:
I felt the room jump a little when Austin came in, before he said anything. . . . He walked out [of the audition] and someone said, ‘I'll just say it, that's a movie star.’
Now, to be fair, the 39-year-old Austin Stewell has been regularly appearing in both feature films and TV shows since his breakout recurring role in The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Though he often appears in supporting parts, he's held his own in projects like 2016's creature comedy Colossal, 2019's psychological thriller Swallow, and 2021's rom-com The Hating Game, among others. So there's legitimate truth to the notion that he's a movie star.
But it's presumed that Mark Harmon's anecdote wasn't just pointing to the actor's IMDb page, but rather the innate magnetism and charisma that Hollywood's most elite performers are known for exuding. It'll be interesting to see those star qualities shining through on a broadcast police procedural like NCIS: Origins. (Not saying it's impossible, obviously, considering Kaitlin Olson is doing everything right on ABC's ratings hit High Potential.)
Harmon confirmed that many actors tried out for the role — Arrow vet Stephen Amell was in the running — but Stowell was the one who brought it home. In his words:
There was heavy competition there. There were a lot of good people. I would say that there were really few who drew the attention Austin did.
No word on whether or not any of the actors auditioning was Michael Weatherly in disguise, though I guess he has his own spinoff on the way with NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
How Austin Stowell Feels About The Responsibility
For all the confidence that Mark Harmon and other NCIS: Origins producers might have, it's up to nobody but Austin Stowell himself to due justice to his performance in building up Leroy Gibbs' backstory as part of the newly forming squad alongside Kyle Schmidt's Mike Franks and others. And the actor is well aware that this is a big responsibility, and it's one that he's embracing with open arms, despite any worries. As he put it:
I don't just go to work for me, I go to work with everyone. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. I love it. . . . The fact that I know that there's 300 million [NCIS fans] out there who are waiting to see what this is only makes me fight harder and make me want to fulfill their expectations.
That 300 million total might be inflating things a bit, but I suppose it's feasible to think that many people have considered themselves NCIS fans since the show began its historic run back in 2003. Pretty sure if that many people tuned into the Origins premiere in its first week, CBS would cancel all of its other programming and throw all of its money at Stowell.
NCIS: Origins airs new episodes every Monday night at 9:00 p.m. ET, ahead of new eps of NCIS' mothership drama, and following new installments of The Neighborhood and Poppa's House. All aforementioned shows are available to stream the next day with a Paramount+ subscription.