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    • Origins,” how Austin Stowell became the new Gibbs
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    Origins,” how Austin Stowell became the new Gibbs

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    Even the “NCIS” origin story for Austin Stowell has a Cracker Jack opening.

    The impossibly rugged actor, 39, had been trying to clear his head after his Audition in February for “NCIS: Origins,” the prequel series to the CBS police procedural (premiering Monday, 9 EDT/PDT, following the OG series’ 22nd season opener). After all, there was a lot at stake in the search for the coveted role of young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, famously embodied by Mark Harmon for 19 TV seasons of glory. Gibbs does the man in the “NCIS” universe, even after the iconic character retired from fly fishing in Alaska when Harmon stepped aside in 2021.

    So Stowell went off the grid and went skiing with Charlie Jennings, his best friend and agent. It was bliss, until Stowell received a miracle message on the fragmented mountaintop saying that Harmon, an executive producer and narrator of “Origins,” wanted to talk.

    “Mark wanted to talk to me, and you can guess what,” said Stowell, who hit the ski hills. “We had to get down the mountain as quickly as possible and get reliable service. We race down that hill, take off our gear, jump in the Jeep and fly down the highway to get reliable service. And so we do. Mark calls. We literally pull off the highway.”

    Harmon indicated that Stowell would do so very likely gets the role of his younger “NCIS” self on CBS’ “Origins.”

    “Mark was very complimentary. He said, ‘It’s been you from the moment you walked in the room,’” Stowell says. “And he asked me, ‘Are you ready for this?’”

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    Oh, it’s ready. Stowell has been preparing to take off since he earned a guest spot on “NCIS: Los Angeles” in 2010 and played a big-hearted swimming champion alongside Kris Kristofferson in two “A Dolphin Tale” films. (“He was an amazing man, talk about a real superhero,” says Stowell. The music legend died last month at the age of 88).

    Stowell even had a serious run in a major film role in “Star Wars” with JJ Abrams. He was flown to Pinewood Studios in London and wore the “Star Wars” costume and makeup for a day. But the role went to another actor. “Of course, it’s devastating,” Stowell says. “This is a wonderful job, but the process is tough. But I’ve always said the same thing when I don’t get a job: ‘Move on.’”

    Abrams introduced the actor to his mentor, Steven Spielberg, and landed Stowell the role of U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers in Spielberg’s 2015 war drama “Bridge of Spies,” which led to roles as the husband of tennis great Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) in the 1970s tennis drama “Battle of the Sexes” and the smoldering Josh Templeman in the 2019 romcom “The Hating Game,” which paved the way for his career. frontrunner status in the “NCIS: Origins” casting race.

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    After his memorable audition, “Origins” executive producers Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North faced familiar reception problems when they called to officially offer Stowell the role. “He was in a cabin in the middle of the woods with no internet and almost missed our call,” North says. “I picked up the phone and said, ‘That’s right Gibbs.'”

    Stowell says, “One phone call that changes your life. And two calls I almost missed. But the Hollywood gods were looking out for me.”

    Monreal says his physical resemblance to Harmon was important. But “Origins” sets Gibbs in 1991 as a green Naval Investigative Service officer at California’s Camp Pendleton, where the former Marine sniper handles the murder of his wife and daughter. That required a presence that Stowell, who can turn on full Gibbs with one soulful look, inhabited.

    “In this ‘Origins’ moment, Gibbs is broken,” Monreal says. “We had to find someone who radiated that energy. That was just as difficult as the physical part of this character.”

    In “Origins,” Gibbs is far from the ultra-competent special agent in command. He is an unstable rookie dealing with his trauma after failing his psychological evaluations. It was this raw premise, based on “NCIS” lore, that led Harmon’s son Sean, who had played young Gibbs in “NCIS” flashbacks, to pitch “Origins.” (He is now executive producer.)

    Young Gibbs has immediate supporters from “Origins,” including Special Agent Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) and his eventual mentor Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), whose power mustache is a scene-stealer. “It’s electric,” Stowell says. “I’ve been joking with him that we’re going to see Franks’ mustaches at Halloween parties.”

    Stowell dove into research, reading 1980s U.S. Navy manuals to understand life and taking long runs with a weighted backpack. He stepped up the rifle training he learned in the Chris Hemsworth-led 2018 Afghanistan war film “12 Strong” to appear quietly confident with Gibbs’ rifle. Stowell still watches NCIS episodes to pick up little mannerisms.

    “I want to embody his essence. There are Gibbs-isms,” says Stowell. “There’s a nod and he has a look.”

    That look and Harmon’s intense blue eyes are so crucial that Stowell wears blue contact lenses over his naturally green eyes. Seeing the world that way changes his perspective: “They make me feel different,” he says. “They are such a powerful tool.”

    Harmon appears at a campfire in the opening “Origins”. The camera zooms in close on his gaze, which transitions into Stowell’s ghostly gaze.

    ‘It is not the passing of the throne; Mark Harmon has the throne,” says Stowell. “When it comes to passing the torch, he lit the torch. My job is to show how this child becomes the man people so admire. But I get to play one of the world’s greatest heroes. And that’s pretty rock ‘n’ roll.”

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