Mark Harmon Told Austin Stowell to Get out of the Room After His Audition
NCIS actor Mark Harmon would help cast his successor in the upcoming prequel show Origins. After Stowell screen-tested for the role of Leroy Gibbs, Harmon told the actor what his next steps should be.
Mark Harmon’s words of wisdom for Austin Stowell after ‘NCIS: Origins’ audition
Stowell might not have known it at the time, but Origins showrunners David North and Gina Monreal felt he was their new Gibbs as soon as he walked into the room. Stowell must’ve competed against many actors all vying to lead a new but familiar NCIS team. But it seemed no one captured their attention quite like Stowell did.
“We just knew when Austin came in that he was Gibbs,” Monreal told Entertainment Weekly. “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.”
But soon, Stowell had to impress more than just Monreal and North. In his final audition, Harmon and his son Sean would be in attendance to judge Stowell’s ability. Harmon even offered some advice to the NCIS newcomer.
“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 recalled. “So I just walked out of the room. I went back to Vermont and went back about my life.”
From there, all Stowell could do was wait for a call back, which he almost missed due to his modest lifestyle.
“Where I live is off the grid a bit,” Stowell said. “I walked back into the house, just got back on to service again, and there was a phone call coming through. So, truly, two minutes before then, I wouldn’t have gotten the call. And it was David and Gina and they were telling me that, essentially, my life was about to change.”
Austin Stowell already seems to share Mark Harmon’s relentless work ethic
It was noted that Stowell immediately started preparing for NCIS after acquiring the role. He retooled his diet and fitness regimen to match that of a marine’s, and rewatched several NCIS episodes for reference. It seemed Stowell left no stone unturned when it came to honoring both Harmon and Gibbs.
“When I first met David and Gina, they asked if I was going to be ready for such a big commitment like this and I told them, ‘You always have all of me,’” Stowell said. “I just want to give everything to this. I know what it means to the fans. I know what Gibbs represents to a whole lot of people out there. I know what the show represents to a whole lot of people out there, and I don’t want to let them down. I’m giving everything I can to give them something new and fresh, but also something tried and true at the same time.”
His work ethic is something else he shares in common with both Gibbs and Harmon. Despite NCIS’s enormous success, Harmon asserted that he and his crew never phoned in a performance. He continued working as hard on the show as he did with anything else he was passionate about.
“This choice, this career, requires you to be all in. Your job is to be prepared for the opportunity — it will come, you just won’t know when,” Harmon told People not too long ago.
“So until then, all you can do is invest in yourself,” he added. “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.”
Harmon’s late father gave the veteran star a motto that he lives by. And it was perhaps a philosophy he passed down to his own successor, Stowell, through example.
“Work your ass off, and don’t let the effort show,” Harmon said.
