Mark Harmon's 'NCIS' standout Gibbs is recast with younger actor for 'Origins.' Who is it?
There's a new, younger Leroy Jethro Gibbs coming to "NCIS: Origins."
Austin Stowell has been cast in the upcoming "NCIS" prequel series that explores the early years of Gibbs' career, CBS said Monday.
He'll succeed Mark Harmon, who played Gibbs for nearly two decades in the original series.
Harmon's Gibbs was the main "NCIS" character when the CBS series premiered in 2003. The former U.S. Marine Corps Scout sniper-turned-special-agent commanded his NCIS team for 18 years on CBS, until Harmon's final Oct. 2021 episode.
During Harmon's "NCIS" tenure, the role of the young Gibbs was often played in flashback by the actor's real-life son Sean Harmon.
"NCIS" spinoff Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly bring Ziva and Tony back
"NCIS: Origins," coming to CBS for the 2024-25 season, will be narrated by Harmon, 72, who will also serve as executive producer.
The new series begins in 1991, about 12 years before the 'NCIS' started, and follows Stowell's younger Gibbs as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office.
Who is the actor playing young Gibbs in 'NCIS: Origins'?
Stowell, 39, is best known for starring opposite Lucy Hale in the 2021 romantic comedy "The Hating Game." He also starred in two "Dolphin Tale" movies and as U2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers in Steven Spielberg's 2015 film "Bridge of Spies."
On TV, Stowell starred opposite George Clooney, Chris Abbott and Hugh Laurie in Hulu's 2019 limited series remake of “Catch-22" and the police drama “Public Morals."
Stowell posted the "NCIS: Origins" announcement on his Instagram page Monday, writing, "Meet Gibbs... again."
What's the other new 'NCIS' series coming?
On Feb. 28, Paramount+ announced that Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly will reprise their fan-favorite roles of Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo (the couple known to fans as "TIVA") for a new "NCIS" spinoff.
Production for the untitled Paramount+ series, which will include the TV couple's daughter Tali, begins later this year for a probable 2025 launch.
“We’ve been talking about this story for many years," Weatherly and de Pablo said in a joint statement. “The world of Tony and Ziva (and daughter Tali) promises to be an action-packed roller coaster fueled by love, danger, tears and laughter."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is the actor playing Gibbs in 'NCIS: Origins'? Meet Austin Stowell
