NCIS: ORIGINS, the upcoming spinoff of NCIS, focuses on the life of young Agent Gibbs, originally played by Mark Harmon. In an interview with TV Insider, cast members explained what it was like to take on such a momentous project.
Austin Stowell, who plays the young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, felt “plenty of pressure” taking on Harmon’s iconic role.
“Mark Harmon has done, you know, the job that actors dream to do. He’s captured the world. And so, that is just slightly daunting, you know? It doesn’t keep me up at night at all, but getting to know Mark has really been paramount to me stepping into these shoes and trying to fill them.”
He added, “He’s a wonderful man, and he cares about family, he cares about the job, he cares about the fans, and his love and dedication to the role has shown me what it’s going to take. I’m here for it, happy to do it.”
However, he won’t be exactly the same Gibbs fans have grown to love.
“Stowell confirmed that his version of the character will drastically differ from the version of Gibbs that audiences are used to seeing after Harmon’s 19 seasons on NCIS. Stowell explained that his Gibbs will be going through a painful transition, recovering from a tragedy he experienced four months before the series picks up. The prequel star said that his character is ‘not the guy fans are used to,’” ScreenRant reported.
The series follows “a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he starts his career as part of the Naval Investigative Service operating out of…Camp Pendleton,” per IMDB’s synopsis.
While it’ll feature familiar names like Gibbs and Special Agent Mike Franks, ORIGINS is adding a new leading character to the mix: Agent Randy played by actor Caleb Foote. Foote shared what it’s like to bring a brand-new character to life.
“I have a wonderful opportunity to create a new character,” he said. “Our entire team has been so helpful in that everything from my character’s wedding ring…they let me pick the wedding ring, to the watch that I wear, and I have input in the costume and my pistol holster, and this scuff mark on it and the story behind that, and so it’s just been…so cool to create this character that doesn’t exist.”
Movieguide® previously reported, “Along with Schmid, ORIGINS stars Austin Stowell as Gibbs, Caleb Foote as Agent Randy and Mariel Molino as Special Agent Cecilia Dominguez. Mark Harmon will return to narrate. While ORIGINS dives into NCIS’ backstory, CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach says that it’s ‘really different than any of the other NCIS’s.’”
The cast thinks this show’s setting will draw fans in as well.
Molino said, “I’m excited to jump into that, especially in the ’90s, which I think is such an incredible era. There’re no phones, there’s not these distractions, there’s really, you know, no internet, no social media. So, everything that we get to portray in the show is really, like, direct contact, which is lovely.”
Stowell added that playing someone in a non-digital world is having a positive impact on them as actors.
“I feel like that non-digital world is pushing us together as characters too…that it’s, we have to use each other,” he said.
NCIS: ORIGINS will premiere on Oct. 14, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
Movieguide® previously reported on ORIGINS:
Mark Harmon will return to the NCIS universe in the spinoff series NCIS: ORIGINS.
The series is a prequel to the long-running drama and will shed some light on Leroy Gibbs’ history.
“NCIS: ORIGINS is really different than any of the other NCIS‘s; it makes me feel so old to say it’s period when it’s set in the ‘90s, kill me now, right?” said CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach.
“It’s a little edgier and grittier than previous NCIS‘s, it’s got a serialized element of it that we’re really excited about. And whereas I would say NCIS: SYDNEY too really had its own identity, it was very uniquely Australian and told stories that can only be told in Australia, so I feel like they’re both opportunities to gain new audiences while also being true to the DNA and loyal fan base of those shows,” she added.
