NCIS’s Mark Harmon praises young Gibbs actor in new spin-off

As a long-time fan of NCIS, I can hardly contain my excitement over the upcoming prequel series, NCIS: Origins! The casting of Austin Stowell as the young Leroy Jethro Gibbs is nothing short of brilliant. Mark Harmon‘s recollection of Stowell’s audition and his description of him as a “movie star” only reinforces my belief that this newcomer was born to play Gibbs in his younger days.


Mark Harmon has shared insights on Austin Stowell being chosen to portray a younger version of Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the series NCIS: Origins.

The upcoming show, set before the primary series, follows Stowell in his early days as a trainee Gibbs, learning the ins and outs of the job during basic training for the franchise.

Harmon, who initially created the character in 2003, now vividly remembers the instant when Stowell stepped into the audition space.

NCIS's Mark Harmon praises young Gibbs actor in new spin-off

In a recent interview with People, the actor casually mentioned that he noticed the room seemed to pulsate subtly upon Austin’s entry, prior to uttering a word. Upon exiting, someone exclaimed, “Alright, I’ll just put it out there, that’s a bona fide movie star.

Harmon added: “Competition was fierce there, with many talented individuals. However, I must admit, Austin’s talent stood out remarkably less compared to others.

As a devoted admirer, I must express that every part chosen for this series feels like a perfectly cast match. Each actor seemed to follow the other, joining the team one by one, making it seem as though we’ve managed to secure everyone on our wishlist.

In addition to the main cast of NCIS: Origins, Diany Rodriguez portrays a youthful Vera Strickland and Kyle Schmid takes on a younger Mike Franks. They are accompanied by Caleb Foote, Mariel Molino, and Tyla Abercrumbie in this production.

NCIS's Mark Harmon praises young Gibbs actor in new spin-off

Originally, it was known that Harmon would be the narrator for the series, but more recently, co-showrunner David J North revealed that he will make a special appearance as Gibbs in the pilot episode of NCIS: Origins.

He mentioned that it was a conversation among Mark, me, and our co-showrunner, Gina Monreal, during a panel discussion for NCIS last month.

“I hope the audience will be excited to see him after so many years.”

In addition, there’s a chance that we might see more of Harmon in upcoming episodes, as they’re primarily concentrating on his narrative about the year 1991.

“As far as Mark appearing again, we are open to anything.”

The debut of NCIS: Origins is set for October 14th, catch it on CBS in the United States. Previous seasons 1 to 20 of NCIS can be streamed on Disney+ in the UK.

Read more NCIS news on our dedicated homepage

Read More

2024-10-15 15:49

Previous post MasterChef’s Matt Preston reveals losing his brother William to epilepsy has left a ’35 year hole’ in his life: ‘The hurt is always there’