LOS ANGELES – Mark Harmon has never been the kind of star to get too worked about anything. The famously laconic actor, who just turned 75, has made his career playing competent, cool characters − just like “NCIS” legendLeroy Jethro Gibbs, who always keeps his emotions close to the bulletproof vest.
But ask Harmon how he feels about stepping back into the Gibbs role full-time on "NCIS: Origins" Season 3 (premiering Oct. 6), and the star's famed blue eyes light up. Especially when he's talking about the electricity on the Los Angeles set led by Austin Stowell, who plays the younger Gibbs in the prequel series.
In his first interview since stepping back in from Gibbs’ retirement in Alaska, Harmon, sitting in his Paramount Studios office next to
Stowell, says the energy is contagious. The spin-off is looking to take off from the crowded “NCIS”-verse with the prime Gibbs addition.
"Are people hearing the bell and coming at it? They are, yeah absolutely," Harmon says, "This group right now knows we have 10 shows this season. There were T-shirts made that said, 'Grip it and rip it.' It's good. I like that."
"'Grip it and rip it' has become our Season 3 mantra," adds Stowell, 41. "It's like, let's get this season, get another and chase more of these."
Well, not so fast. Right now Harmon is slated for the 10-episode season underway. But just the return of the original Gibbs is a signal to "NCIS"-verse fans and beyond that "Origins" means business – even as the well-received show has been handed a shortened season, sharing the fall schedule with "NCIS: Sydney."
"It reminds me in many ways of doing the original series early on," Harmon says. "But it's a different time at the network and in TV. It's our time to get on board with that and try something different while respecting the viewers' loyalty."
After 19 seasons on "NCIS," Harmon left the mothership series five years ago, in 2021. Harmon, who has been married to "Mork & Mindy" star Pam Dawber for 39 years, says he had long been signaling his intent to step away.
"It was time to get back to the family and spend less time at the studio," says Harmon, who talked with producers about several exit strategies, including killing off Gibbs. "That was met with a universal thumbs-down by many people."
The Alaska ending allowed Gibbs to live in remote retirement, staying behind after an "NCIS" fly-fishing trip, finally finding the sense of peace that had long eluded him. The episode was written by showrunner David J. North, now the executive producer of "Origins," and provided a potential return plan.
Harmon's son, Sean Harmon, who often played the young Gibbs on "NCIS" flashbacks, suggested the "Origins" series looking back at Gibbs' life in 1990s Camp Pendleton through Stowell. Both Harmons executive-produce the show and share joined offices.
"I let him have the bigger one," says Harmon, who also handles the show's voiceover and appeared in present-day Alaska scenes.
For Season 3, North proposed Harmon's full-time return during a 45-minute Paramount Studios pitch, detailing a returning mystery tied to Gibbs' ‘90s Pendleton days that forces Gibbs to leave his Alaska home to investigate. Stowell and Harmon will appear separately in their respective timelines.
"Afterwards, Mark just looked at me and said, 'OK,'" North says. "That was it."
One of Harmon's first calls was to Stowell, his choice to play his younger self, who is fiercely protective of caretaking the Gibbs character. Harmon wanted to make it clear it was still the young star's show. "Austin leads, not me," Harmon says.
"It speaks to the man that Mark is that he called to tell me, 'I hope you don't feel I'm stepping on your toes,'" Stowell says. "I told him, 'It's hard to feel you're stepping on my toes when I'm standing on your shoulders.' It's a thrill. We have a major opportunity here to tell the story about this character that Mark built and made iconic."
In the first cast table read, North gave the introduction for the new full-time "Origins" actor to the rest of the cast.
"I said that I've had my eye on this newcomer for a while. He hasn't done much, but I think if we give him a chance he might have a future in this business," North says. "And I said, 'Welcome to our new series regular, Mark Harmon.' And it just exploded."
"That room was positively electric," Stowell says. "There's a buzz every time they say, 'The man is coming to the set.' He's just 'the man.'"
"I'm not even the man who knows that man," Harmon shrugs, prompting Stowell to crack up.
"That's such a load of crap," Stowell says.
The only way Harmon slightly sticks out on the set is with his classic "NCIS"-era Airstream trailer on the Paramount lot. "It's easy to find him − that Airstream is hard to miss," North says.
Stowell says he has no problem acting as Gibbs in front of the actor who created the character.
"To portray Gibbs in front of Gibbs just sort of lights me up," says Stowell, whose young character will lighten up this season after canonic personal struggles. "Gibbs is starting to become the hero that Mark was for 19 seasons on 'NCIS.' And that's fun to play into."
Harmon knocks back a question of whether an "Origins" return might lead to an "NCIS" return in the future: "They haven't asked, so I don't have to think about it," he says.
Nor does he look beyond "Origins" Season 3.
"We're all here for 10, and that's what we have. That's our present, future and past. We do the 10 best shows that we can. That's everything."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mark Harmon vows to 'grip it and rip it' in 'NCIS: Origins' return | Exclusive
