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Who should play the young version of Mark Harmon's Gibbs on NCIS: Origins?

We have some thoughts about who could take up the mantle of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Published on January 5, 2024 06:50PM EST

NCIS fans, get ready to see Gibbs like you've never seen him before.

CBS announced Friday that its flagship procedural is getting a '90s-set prequel series, NCIS: Origins, which will follow a younger version of Mark Harmon's beloved character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, as a newly minted special agent making a name for himself at Camp Pendleton. While Harmon will be returning to the NCIS franchise to narrate and executive-produce Origins, he won't be starring — which raises a big question.

Who should play young Gibbs?

Of course some major names come to mind, guys like Glen Powell and Austin Butler. But they're securely movie stars at this point and not likely to commit to leading a network show. (There's also Harmon's son, Sean Harmon, who has played a young Gibbs on NCIS, but he's exec-producing Origins with his dad.) So, the EW staff has some ideas about who should be your grandma's next crush.

Lucas Till

Lucas Till is already in the CBS family and proved he can handle an fan-favorite prequel character with MacGyver. Plus, that jawline screams young Mark Harmon. —Sydney Bucksbaum

KJ Apa

Entertainment Weekly Hosts Its Annual Comic-Con Party At FLOAT At The Hard Rock Hotel In San Diego In Celebration Of Comic-Con 2017 - Arrivals — KJ Apa. Mike Coppola/Getty Images

As Riverdale hunk Archie, KJ Apa proved he can handle the most absurd of network television scenarios. Now he can graduate and trade his ginger locks for a fresh blond look! —Maureen Lee Lenker

Robbie Amell

I'm no NCIS expert, but I do think that Robbie Amell bears a decent resemblance to young Mark Harmon and seems like he's at the right juncture in his career for another network show. —Wesley Stenzel

Kevin Zegers

With The Rookie: Feds caput on ABC, Zegers needs another outlet to showcase his federal agent skills. Plus, he could pass for a young Harmon. —MLL

Jaren Lewison

Never have I ever seen an episode of NCIS, and Jaren Lewison was the first young TV actor I could think of who's buff enough to look like he just went through special forces training or whatever NCIS people do. On this show that would actually make sense for his character. —Jillian Sederholm

Chris Zylka

Chris Zylka also has a young Mark Harmon's jawline. I have no other reason, but he really does look like his son (even more so than Harmon's actual son and the show's EP, Sean Harmon). —SB

Trevor Lawrence

Sure, sure, Lawrence is a star football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars, hungry for a Super Bowl ring. But Harmon also got his start as a star QB (at the college level, for UCLA), and there's something about Lawrence's hair that makes us feel like he could sell it. —MLL

Patrick Schwarzenegger

Straight off burning up the screen — literally — on Gen V, Patrick Schwarzenegger has the looks, charm, and moxie (not to mention last-name recognition) to play a young Gibbs. Although, truth be told, could we not just divert all this young Mark Harmon casting energy toward willing a Summer School reboot into existence instead? —Dalton Ross

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