Once again, Austin Stowell is having the best day ever — all thanks to him winning the role of legendary TV character Leroy Jethro Gibbs in “NCIS: Origins.”
“Since I got this job, it has just been day after day after day of the greatest day of my life,” says Stowell, smiling.
The actor has his shoulders back and chest up to portray the ex-Marine-turned-naval investigator, set 25 years before audiences first met “NCIS” star Mark Harmon.
Harmon and his son Sean are behind the idea of this origin story of the special agent, who was on-screen for 19 seasons from 2003 to 2021, solving crimes for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Virginia.
Stowell says he’ll be doing his best to live up to the role Harmon made famous and give viewers a new perspective on “how the hero was born.”
Harmon, who narrates and pops up occasionally in the show, has been very supportive of Stowell, making himself available to chat about life, visiting the set and even texting (something technophobic Gibbs would never).
“Mark and I talk a lot about what it means to be the leader of a team, about what it means to be a leader of this set and crew,” he says. “Those conversations have been invaluable to me because I don’t know what it’s like. I’ve never been No. 1 on a TV show before.”
The lessons he’s learned: be on time, be kind, respectful and professional.
He’s also studied up on the “NCIS” universe, something he knew about but wasn’t yet a super fan.
In a pop quiz Stowell correctly names all the franchise’s four spin-off shows and only stumbles when it comes to rule three of Gibbs’ famous guidelines: “Never believe what you are told.”