PASADENA, Calif. — Mark Harmon is feeling the star power of Austin Stowell, who plays a younger version of his beloved character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, on “NCIS: Undercover Team.”
Harmon, an executive producer on the “NCIS” prequel spinoff series, was in the room when Stowell auditioned for the role of a young Gibbs circa 1991. Gina Lucita Monreal, an executive producer on “NCIS: Origins” and fellow Stowell colleague, was “ecstatic” when the “The Hating Game” star showed up to audition for Stowell after a host of other candidates, Harmon said.
“I joked that Gina fainted, but she did. She might deny it, but she did,” Harmon told USA Today at Saturday’s Television Critics Association. “And when[Stowell]walked out of the room, she said, ‘That guy’s a star now!'”
The “NCIS” franchise will need some star power when Stowell, 39, is tapped to star in “NCIS: Origins,” which premieres Oct. 14 on CBS. The spinoff will air Monday nights after the parent series, “NCIS,” begins its 22nd season.
The new Gibbs from “NCIS”Austin Stowell to play younger version of Mark Harmon’s character in NCIS: Origins
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Harmon’s Gibbs became a star on NCIS. Harmon was an original member of NCIS when the CBS series premiered in 2003. The former U.S. Marine Corps scout sniper turned special agent led the NCIS team on CBS for 18 years until its final episode in October 2021.
What role will Mark Harmon play in NCIS: Origins?
Harmon, 72, will serve as an executive producer on “NCIS: Origins” and will also narrate the series, which follows a young Gibbs as a rookie special agent working at NCIS’s new Camp Pendleton office some 12 years before “NCIS.”
“I’m content to play a supporting role and let the (new) cast do their thing,” Harmon said of his behind-the-scenes role. “I’m happy to be involved. I’m remote. I’m just here to support.”
During Harmon’s time on NCIS, the role of a young Gibbs was often played in flashbacks by the actor’s real-life son, Sean Harmon, who came up with the idea for a spin-off series while filming NCIS.Episode 400 of 2020.
“It was a shocking moment. Gibbs is a man with some inner pain, a man who may have been walking a much darker path at one point,” Sean Harmon said. In NCIS: Origins, Gibbs will reveal to viewers the traumatic loss of his wife and child early in his career.
Would Mark Harmon’s son Sean have wanted to play a young Gibbs in NCIS: Origins?
“In NCIS, Gibbs had 30 years to come to terms with his trauma,” says Sean Harmon, “but in NCIS: Undercover, Gibbs is a traumatized man who doesn’t have any answers.”
Sean, 36, insisted he never wanted to play Gibbs full-time after “NCIS.”
“It was a true honour to take on this role and it will always remain close to my heart,” he said. “The truth is, I never intended to pursue it as a career.”
During the TCA presentation, there was some debate as to who fainted when Stowell walked into the audition room, with NCIS and NCIS: Origins executive producer David North claiming that he was the one who was brought to his knees by Stowell.
“Let’s be clear,” Stowell said, jokingly ending the discussion. “Someone passed out.”
Stowell said his role will be different to the young Gibbs, who is dealing with the loss of his wife and child. “This is not the Gibbs that the public knows. This is someone who is hurting and searching for his identity,” Stowell said. “During my screen test, Mark came up to me and said two words I’ll never forget: ‘Believe in yourself.'”
A week after the shooting, Stowell said he felt like baseball hero Lou Gehrig. Gehrig “used to say he was the luckiest man in the world,” Stowell said. “I feel the same way. It’s only been a week, but we’re doing something very special here.”
Will Mark Harmon return to NCIS?
Speaking to reporters after the TCA panel, Harmon was asked if he’d consider bringing Gibbs back to “NCIS” after he retired.
“I don’t know. What’s really important is that I feel like I’ve accomplished something,” Harmon said. “I’ve always let the writers do what they want.”
When asked if he’d ever been invited back to “NCIS” even just for a guest role, Harmon replied, “As far as I know, but they just changed agents, so who knows?”
In his final scenes on “NCIS,” Gibbs remains in Alaska after solving his final case, fishing, while Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and crew return to Washington, D.C. Harmon said he doesn’t know where Gibbs is now.
“I can’t imagine he’s still standing in the river,” Harmon said. “Other than that, I don’t know. Maybe he’s still in Alaska. I was just honored that (Gibbs) found a peace that he hasn’t known in a while. It made sense.”
