As a result of NCIS: Origins takes place in 1991, the prequel that’s presently airing on the 2024 TV schedule mainly serves as a platform for Austin Stowell to play the youthful Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Nonetheless, Mark Harmon, who performed Gibbs on NCIS for practically twenty years, is carefully concerned in Origins as each government producer and the present’s narrator, and he even appeared on digicam throughout the first episode. Whereas there’s a world the place Stowell may have merely narrated along with acting on digicam, he lately shared why he’s glad Harmon is dealing with that responsibility as a substitute.
Stowell sat down with TVLine to speak about an assortment of NCIS: Origins matters, together with why he’s wanting ahead to when his Gibbs and Lucas Dixon’s Tobias Fornell will meet. When the actor was requested about if Harmon comes on location to report his Gibbs narrations or if he handles these from residence, Stowell answered that he believes his predecessor is “going to the lot” and doing them in knowledgeable recording sales space. Then, after saying he doesn’t hear Harmon’s vocals till viewing the finished episodes, The actor continued:
I do the voiceovers once we do the desk learn, and I’m actually completely happy that I by no means need to do them, as a result of it’s like, should you may discuss to your youthful self, how emotional may that be? And particularly by way of this specific chapter of Gibbs’ life, it’s extremely highly effective to me how that voice is the person who has realized the teachings speaking to the boy who has not. After I hear Mark’s voice, it provides me details about how I needs to be enjoying the character shifting ahead. That I believe Mark and I… he says that he’s studying from me on the similar time, however clearly these scales are very a lot tipped the opposite method that I’m attempting to take in the whole lot that he provides me in order that I’ve all of the extra ammunition, so to talk, to play this character.
Whereas I’ve little doubt Austin Stowell would do an efficient job narrating NCIS: Origins, I wholeheartedly agree with him that Mark Harmon was the higher alternative to do that. Possibly it’d be a distinct story if the narration was coming from Leroy Jethro Gibbs shortly after he was achieved with every of his circumstances in 1991, however that’s not what’s occurring right here. As an alternative, we’re listening to from the present-day Gibbs who’s wanting again on his life and has collected the life expertise his youthful self is a methods off from getting. Maybe extra importantly, listening to Harmon vocally reprise the character helps Stowell enhance his personal efficiency.
Mark Harmon exited NCIS early into Season 19, and once we noticed him once more in NCIS: Origins’ first episode, a.ok.a. “Enter Sandman Half 1,” he was nonetheless residing within the Alaskan wilderness. The older Gibbs is now chronicling when he began out at NIS, however in a twist, the story itself isn’t a lot about him. As an alternative, “Enter Sandman Half 1” is telling a narrative he doesn’t often like to inform, one about Mariel Molino’s Lala Dominguez. What’s going to occur between these two? It’s laborious to say, though there’s already hypothesis that Gibbs’ relationship along with her will result in the creation of Rule 12.
New episodes of NCIS: Origins, which is getting an expanded first season, air Mondays at 10 pm ET on CBS. After that, all you’ll want is a Paramount+ subscription to stream them to your coronary heart’s content material.