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

    Idris Bevan Posted on

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    Even Austin Stowell’s “NCIS” origin story has a Cracker Jack opening.

    The incredibly resilient actor, 39, had been trying to clear his head after his death February auditions for “NCIS: Origins,” the prequel series to the CBS police procedural (premiering Monday, 9 EDT/PDT, following the OG series’ Season 22 premiere). After all, the stakes were high when it came to landing the coveted role of young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, portrayed by Mark Harmon across 19 glorious TV seasons. Gibbs is the guy in the “NCIS” universe, even after the iconic character retired from fly fishing in Alaska following Harmon’s retirement in 2021.

    So Stowell went off the grid and skied with Charlie Jennings, his best friend and agent. It was tremendous bliss until Stowell received a miraculous message at the sketchy mountaintop reception saying Harmon, an executive producer and narrator of “Origins,” wanted to speak.

    “Mark wanted to talk to me, and you can imagine what it was about,” says ski slope villain-turned Stowell. “We needed to get down the hill and get reliable service as quickly as possible. We race down the hill, strip out of our gear, jump in the Jeep and fly down the highway to get reliable service. And that’s what we do. Mark calls. “We literally move” off the highway.

    Harmon signaled that Stowell would do so most likely lands the role of his younger “NCIS” self on CBS’ “Origins.”

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

    After ‘Star Wars’ casting disappointment, Austin Stowell said: ‘Move on!’

    Oh, he’s ready. Stowell has been preparing for a breakthrough ever since he landed a guest role on “NCIS: Los Angeles” in 2010 and played a big-hearted swimming champion opposite Kris Kristofferson in two “A Dolphin Tale” films. (“He was an amazing man, talk about a real-life superhero,” says Stowell. The music legend died last month at age 88.)

    Stowell even had a serious shot at a big role in the Star Wars movie with JJ Abrams. He was flown to London’s Pinewood Studios and wore the Star Wars costume and makeup for a day. But the role went to another actor. “Naturally. It’s devastating,” Stowell says. “It’s a wonderful job, but the process is hard. But I always said the same thing when I didn’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.” That led to roles such 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 romantic comedy “The Hating Game,” which paved his way to front-runner status in the “NCIS: Origins” casting race. .

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    Austin Stowell Was Hard to Reach After ‘NCIS: Origins’ Auditions: ‘So Gibbs’

    After his memorable audition, “Origins” executive producers Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North faced familiar reception issues 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 hung up and said, ‘That’s so Gibbs.'”

    Stowell says: “A 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” places Gibbs in 1991 as a green officer in the Naval Investigative Service at Camp Pendleton, California, where the former Marine sniper is investigating the murders of his wife and daughter. That required a presence that Stowell, who can attack Gibbs with a single, soulful look, possessed.

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

    In “Origins,” Gibbs is far from the highly competent special agent. He’s an insecure newbie dealing with his trauma after failing his psychological exams. 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 an executive producer.)

    The young Gibbs has immediate supporters of “Origins”, including Special Agent Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) and his later mentor Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), whose thick mustache is a real eye-catcher. “It’s electric,” Stowell says. “I joke with him that we’ll see Frank’s mustaches at Halloween parties.”

    Stowell threw himself into research, reading 1980 U.S. Navy manuals to understand life and going on long runs with a weighted backpack. He stepped up the rifle training he learned in the 2018 Chris Hemsworth-directed Afghanistan war film “12 Strong” to look confident with Gibbs’ rifle. Stowell still watches “NCIS” episodes to pick up little habits.

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

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

    Harmon appears near a campfire in the opening of “Origins”. The camera zooms in very close to his gaze, which turns into Stowell’s haunted gaze.

    “It is not the transfer of the throne; Mark Harmon has “The throne,” says Stowell. “If it’s passing the torch, he lit the torch.” It’s my job to show how this kid becomes the guy that people admire so much. But I get to play one of the world’s greatest heroes. And that’s pretty rock ‘n’ roll.

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    Idris Bevan
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