Austin Stowell Pulled From Real Life Tragedy to Play Leroy Gibbs in ‘NCIS: Origins’

Austin Stowell noticed some stark parallels between Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ character arc in ‘NCIS: Origins’ and his own personal life.

NCIS Origins has already proven itself to be a bit darker of a show than its predecessor. It also explores a much younger Leroy Gibbs who’s in a state fans aren’t used to seeing him in. But Gibbs’ angst was something the show’s star Austin Stowell could relate to, as he had his own real-life tragedies to overcome.

How Austin Stowell related to Leroy Gibbs

Fans knew that Gibbs would be a bit of a broken man way before the first episodes of Origins aired. Not only is Gibbs younger and less wise, but the character has also gone through a horrific family tragedy. Because of this, Gibbs doesn’t have the same level of temperament that he’ll earn after years of life experience. In real life, however, Stowell also dealt with the loss of someone close to him.

“There were so many parallels to my own life — issues with suicide, a relationship between a father and a son, a feeling of imposter syndrome. It just feels right,” Stowell said in an interview with Variety.

Stowell confided that his father committed suicide in 2020, which led to a dark period for the actor, but also one of enlightenment. His relationship with his father reminded Stowell of Gibbs’ relationship with his.

“A lot of my relationship with my father plays through with Gibbs and his estranged relationship with his dad,” Stowell said. “We both wish it were better, and we don’t know how to say the things that are in our hearts, not ready to face the truth and say it out loud.”

Austin Stowell on his ‘disarming’ relationship with Mark Harmon

Harmon couldn’t have been more complimentary towards his NCIS successor. He was in the room when casting directors and producers were auditioning actors, trying to find their next Leroy Gibbs. Harmon shared that the room seemed to stop when Stowell entered the picture.

“I felt the room jump a little when Austin came in, before he said anything,” Harmon recalled to People. “He walked out and someone said, ‘I’ll just say it, that’s a movie star.’”

Stowell himself appeared confident about his chances going into the audition.

“I knew that I had something that I could bring to the role and I knew I had something inside me that felt very Gibbs-esque, and so to be tapped to play the guy is absolutely a confidence booster,” he said. “It’s something that I take a lot of pride in.”

Harmon and Stowell got along well after the latter was honored the role. And despite Harmon’s superstar presence, he did everything he could to make Stowell feel like he was home.

“He always starts off his conversations with, ‘Do you need anything?’ That is so disarming,” Stowell said. “The guy is a global superstar. He could make it very uncomfortable for people to be around him. Certainly. I mean, for me, a guy who is stepping into the shoes of the character that he created and has become beloved and for everybody else that’s around here. That goes for the crew. He treats everyone with such respect.”

Although Stowell studied Harmon’s performance extensively to prepare for the role, Gibbs’ youth leaves enough room for him to add something fresh to the role.

“There are certain things that Mark does, and they are different to his other characters that he’s portrayed,” Stowell said. “And so I wanted to embody as much of that as I could and decide, okay, if this is day one with Gibbs, how many of these behaviors are innate to him, and how many of them get learned over time? And so that was fun.”