Mark Harmon Reveals How Austin Stowell Was Cast as Young Gibbs on ‘NCIS: Origins’ — and Why Sean Harmon Didn’t Return

In the role of former NCIS lead Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Mark Harmon is a tough act to follow. But it seems he found a worthy successor in NCIS: Origins star Austin Stowell.

Harmon told People there was “heavy competition” for that lead part in the prequel series, which premieres on CBS tonight, Monday, October 14, at 10/9c. “There were a lot of good people,” the NCIS alum said. “I would say that there were really few who drew the attention Austin did.”

In fact, Stowell made an impression with his presence alone, Harmon explained: “I felt the room jump a little when Austin came in, before he said anything. … He walked out [after the audition] and someone said, ‘I’ll just say it — that’s a movie star.’”

Greg Gayne/CBS

In NCIS: Origins, Stowell’s Gibbs “starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office, where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid),” according to the show’s synopsis.

Mariel Molino, Tyla Abercrumbie, Diany Rodriguez, and Caleb Foote also star in the series, while Harmon serves as narrator and executive producer.

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Meet the New Gibbs With Mark Harmon & the Cast of 'NCIS: Origins'

As Mark Harmon starred on the original NCIS for its first 19 seasons, his son Sean Harmon played a younger Gibbs in seven episodes of that series. And Mark told Variety why Sean decided to stay behind the camera — as another executive producer — for NCIS: Origins.

“He’s an actor, writer, producer, surfer — he does a lot of things,” Mark said of Sean. “You have to come to decisions about what you want to do in life, or what you think’s important. I just think he made a choice and had to make a decision in some ways. He likes executive producing.”

Stowell, meanwhile, was drawn to the part because of the timeframe of NCIS: Origins. As NCIS devotees know, 1991 is the year that Gibbs’ wife and daughter were murdered.

“That’s what drew me to the character initially,” Stowell previously told TV Insider. “That grief is something that unfortunately most of us have gone through, and certainly these first several episodes are a bit of a meditation on grief in the different stages. We’re going to see someone who’s emotional, who’s lashing out at times, who’s jumpy and also considering every option. And I think that also includes the ultimate option. … This is a character who is living in that, who’s living in the grief, who’s living in the dark hole and trying to dig himself out of it. And so this is a character that’s really fun to play because this is the guy who threw up his hands at one point to give up and is now ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work and find new passion.”

NCIS: Origins, Series Premiere, Monday, October 14, 9/8c, CBS