How to Get Cast on ‘NCIS: Origins’

Set at California’s Camp Pendleton in 1991, “NCIS: Origins” explores the beginning of Gibbs’ (Stowell) career as a special agent for the Naval Investigative Service (NIS)—which later becomes the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, aka NCIS. The prequel series begins shortly after Gibbs’ wife, Shannon, and daughter, Kelly, were murdered. Harmon serves as the show’s narrator. 

From this perspective, viewers have the chance to see how characters from “NCIS” became an integral part of Gibbs’ life and how prior events shaped the character they came to know and admire during Harmon’s run on the CBS hit.

Season 1 of “NCIS: Origins” featured:

• Austin Stowell as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs
• Kyle Schmid as Special Agent Mike Franks
• Mariel Molino as Special Agent Cecilia “Lala” Dominguez
• Tyla Abercrumbie as Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo Sullivan
• Diany Rodriguez as Special Agent Vera Strickland
• Caleb Foote as Special Agent Bernard “Randy” Randolf
• Tonantzin Carmelo as Tishmal “Tish” Kwa’la
• Patrick Fischler as Special Agent in Charge Cliff Wheeler
• Julian Black Antelope as Chief Medical Examiner Témet Téngalkat
• Michael Harney as Richard Kowalski
• Daniel Bellomy as Herman “Herm” Daniels
• Bobby Moynihan as Woodrow “Woody” Browne
• Ely Henry as NIS Junior Chemist Philip Elertson
• Lori Petty as Dr. Lenora Friedman
• Matthew Henerson as Special Agent Carl Loughlin
• Eric Normington as Special Agent Roger Murphy
• Aaron Wilton as Special Agent JJ Henneberry
• Marisa Baram as Gail Price
• Lucas Dixon as Tobias Fornell
• Robert Taylor as Jackson Gibbs
• Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs (narrator)

Co-showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal told TV Insider that viewers will also see more of real-estate agent Diane (Kathleen Kenny)—whom “NCIS” fans know as Gibbs’ second wife—after she popped up on the Season 1 finale.

Krysti Baxter, Meredith Goble, and Jason Kennedy of Kennedy/Baxter/Goble Casting serve as the main CDs on “NCIS: Origins.” The trio also worked on the original “NCIS” and cast its spinoffs “NCIS: New Orleans” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

Kennedy told the WeAudition Show that auditioning requires a totally different skill set than acting itself. “Whether you’re coming into the room or putting together a self-tape, there’s a lot of other moving parts involved that are completely aside from performing and getting into a character and researching a role,” he shared. Actors who can navigate the constantly evolving process, however, and simply leave it all in the room (or on the tape, as the case may be) are poised to excel, Kennedy added, noting that moving forward after all’s said and done helps actors maintain a healthy headspace while putting their best foot forward.

Though Harmon’s son Sean portrayed young Gibbs for seven episodes of the original series, when the time came to cast the “Origins” lead, he stepped aside to serve as executive producer, paving the path for franchise newcomer Stowell. The actor wasn’t the only one to audition for the pivotal role, though. “Arrow” star Stephen Amell also auditioned for Gibbs—the same week he auditioned for his lead role on NBC’s “Suits: L.A.”

“My focus wasn’t on ‘Suits LA.’ Two auditions came in [that week],” he told Michael Rosenbaum on the “Inside of You” podcast. “My actual focus that week was on an audition that I had…for the prequel to ‘NCIS.’ It was playing the younger version of [Gibbs].” But Amell ultimately learned he wouldn’t be joining the series. As Amell said, “Retrospectively, I got the job that I was supposed to get”—proving it’s often best to move on from rejection and channel your energy into your next audition.

When Stowell entered the audition room, the creative team knew he was right for the role almost immediately. Mark Harmon, who is also an executive producer on “NCIS” and “NCIS: Origins,” told People, “I felt the room jump a little when Austin came in, before he said anything…. He walked out and someone said, ‘I'll just say it—that’s a movie star.’ There were a lot of good people. I would say that there were really few who drew the attention Austin did.”

Monreal echoed this sentiment, telling Entertainment Weekly, “We just knew when Austin came in that he was Gibbs. He embodied it. His talent is limitless—his dedication to the role, studying Mark, studying the show—he has a similar leadership quality that Mark had on set that bleeds into Gibbs the character.”

Stowell didn’t hesitate to admit he was nervous, though. “I felt very confident in what I could bring to the character, and then the second you walk in the room, that all goes out the window,” he told CBS News.

And from what the actor told Entertainment Weekly, it could have gone either way. “At the end of the audition, after some direction from Mark, he said, ‘There you go. If I were you, I would just walk out of the room right now,’ ” Stowell said. “So I just walked out of the room. I went back to Vermont and went back about my life.” 

As we now know, the door might’ve closed behind Stowell on his way out, but a new one—the one where he’s the lead of a network drama—was about to open.

While there have been no updates on the show’s production schedule, the series is slated to return to CBS for the 2025–2026 season. Stay tuned for updates.

There don’t appear to be any open casting calls available for “NCIS: Origins” at this time. In January, a Season 1 casting call looking for various Native American actors was posted to Facebook. This call sought a Native American man in his 20s and a Native American girl between ages 6–12. 

To avoid missing any future casting calls, we recommend seeking representation, if you haven’t already, as these industry insiders are on the pulse of who’s hiring. Here’s how you can get an acting agent. You might also want to bookmark our main casting page, which updates with the latest notices as they become available.

Stepping into the shoes of an established character isn’t easy. Harmon offered Stowell some advice that can apply to anyone who hopes to join the cast one day, particularly those who might play the younger version of another beloved “NCIS” character. Stowell told USA Today, “[This character] is not the Gibbs the world knows. This is someone broken, searching for his identity. During the screen test, Mark came up to me and gave me two words that I’ll remember forever: ‘Trust yourself.’ ”

But that’s not the only time Harmon has shared such wisdom. As he told People years prior to his “NCIS” departure, “This choice, this career, requires you to be all in,” he said. “Your job is to be prepared for the opportunity—it will come, you just won’t know when. So, until then, all you can do is invest in yourself. I’ve always worked hard, I’ve always tried to pay attention to the little things—but here’s the real secret: There are no little things.”

Similarly, Schmid, who plays young Mike Franks, connected with Muse Watson, who originated the role, so he could learn a little something from the man who came before him. “There was something about who [Muse] was as a person that really resonated with me. I think we kind of see the world in the same way,” Schmid told Us Weekly. “I got a big heart. Muse has a big heart. The reason I came to Hollywood was to try and do good work and approach everything with integrity and pride. And that’s the way that Muse worked and continues to live his life.”

But how did that translate to Schmid’s portrayal of their shared character? “Muse said to me, he goes, ‘You know what? Just do good work. Believe in yourself and believe in the character,’ ” Schmid said. “And outside of that, all I needed to do was grow a mustache and work on the dialect with Muse. It was easy enough to chat with him and talk to him, pick up certain inflections.”