Where’s Randy in the Present? ‘NCIS: Origins’ Star Caleb Foote Shares His — and Brian Dietzen’s — Ideas
Exclusive
What To Know
- Caleb Foote, who plays Randy on the ’90s-set NCIS: Origins, speculates as to where his character is in the present-day.
- Foote also reveals that NCIS‘s Brian Dietzen has an idea to introduce Randy in 2025.
- Foote suggests that Randy’s mention of a desk job could explain why he hasn’t been seen or mentioned on the mothership.
The NCIS franchise expanded last year to include the prequel, Origins, and in doing so, it began exploring the pasts of several characters we’d already met in the present. The series follows Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell in the prequel, Mark Harmon on the mothership), as a probie on Mike Franks’ (Kyle Schmid, Muse Watson) team, and Vera Strickland (Diany Rodriguez, Roma Maffia) works out of the same office. In the recent crossover, Bobby Moynihan and Ely Henry played older versions of Woody and Phil, so we know they live to 2025. There’s a mystery surrounding Lala (Mariel Molino), so we don’t expect to see her in the present. But what about Randy? We asked Caleb Foote for his theory about his character.
“This is something that my parents can’t let go either,” Foote tells TV Insider with a laugh. “My parents are always just trying to pitch ideas to have an old Randy come back in the mothership.”
As for his own ideas? “I think Randy — this is all just pure speculation — exists in the future. I think Randy is an implemental part in Gibbs’s upbringing as an amazing prolific special agent, and I think we have the best showrunners [David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal on Origins, Steven D. Binder on NCIS] in the biz. I think they’re going to find a creative reason for the OG team to not have interacted with Randy up until this point, but your guess is as good as mine,” Foote admits.
“I’m half hoping that Randy’s in that cabin in Alaska and him, Lala, and Gibbs, they’re all drinking hot cocoa and riding a dog sled around,” he continues. “That’s my dream. I’m ice fishing with Gibbs and then we cast Will Ferrell to play an old Randy, something perfect.”
So, no, he wouldn’t want to be aged up with makeup like Moynihan and Henry (“It was the perfect scene,” Foote raves about their appearances in the crossover). “I think they should find someone,” says Foote.
He also shared “a really good idea” that Brian Dietzen, who plays Dr. Jimmy Palmer on NCIS, came up with, to “introduce an old Randy in the mothership, but he should be missing an arm. And so then you just raise all of these questions and then throughout every single episode and season of NCIS: Origins, you’re like, when’s he going to lose the arm? When’s he going to lose the arm?”
Foote also thinks that Randy talking about a desk job in Season 1 could play into why we have yet to see or hear about him in the present-day.
“When we shot the finale and they were talking about Wheeler’s [Patrick Fischler] replacement, we actually shot it and it didn’t really make the final cut, but the SAC came in, he was like, ‘I need someone. I need someone with experience and I need someone who wants to do it.’ It was actually scripted that they were showing Franks and Randy,” he reveals. “I feel as if that could be a pretty good trajectory for Randy. This would be seasons down the line, but he would be taking up some kind of a leadership position and then you could make it a classified leader leadership position — it is the Navy — and maybe that’s why you just never hear from old Rando again.”
What do you think the future holds for Randy? Let us know in the comments section below.
NCIS: Origins, Tuesdays, 9/8c, CBS
Conversation15 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Register or sign in to join the conversation.
-
R
November 18ths origins episode was awesome! These are the stories that Make NCIS awesome! You see that Randolph's character was formed by his mother! Out of all the Origins team, He seems the most optimistic! I like and relate to him as a character ( He's the Jimmy Palmer in origins)! My name is Randall so I've got to route for him! He deserves a crossover appearance!!
-
K
I think Randy could have moved up within the organization and been one of those life lines / guardian angels that Gibbs always had in his back pocket to deploy a satellite over an area or to get him top secret Intel on a P O.I when the case was at a stand still. Gibbs seemed to have a lot of those people and the team didn't know about most of them unless a face to face happened and even then the team only knew minimum info. So Randy being unknown to the team doesn't mean he didn't help them thru Gibbs over the years .
-
D
Randy could be the father of the special agent Ned Dorneget who's father was a big deal in navy. Could have changed name to avoid special treatment. Rand had a son. N.C.I.S
-
J
I'm not saying it's going to happen, but the way Randy was acting/looking in the episode after Mike destroyed the computer, I kept saying to myself, this is his villain arc. He's happy go lucky and dancing on the outside, but on the inside.....that's a whole other beast waiting to come to the surface.
-
M
Speaking as a long time viewer.of NCIS, can I ask why 2 new spin offs (NCIS Origins and Tony & Ziva) were produced with the intention.of only being screened by Paramount + here in UK when the original NCIS is screened.on.Disney +. The 2 spin off shows are unlikely to be screened on Disney making them inaccessible to some die hard fans of the original show.
-
M
NCIS Orgins is broadcast on CBS in the U.S. It is not on Paramount + only.
You can also watch it on Hulu.
-
L
Toni and Ziva was only on Paramount in the U.S. as well. Origins is on C.B.S. primetime in the U.S. as well as Paramount...I don't think we get it on Disney+ that's cool though!
-
-
S
IIRC when Vera first appeared on NCIS, McGee was surprised to learn that she had worked with Gibbs before. So he may not have told (probably didn't tell) the MCRT much about his past time at NIS. Maybe, since Randy has become interested in computerizing the records during Origins, he drifted towards IT and computer forensics. He could have left NIS to move to academia, writing a textbook in the field that (particularly) McGee and Kasie learned from.
A case involving a very old and/or very specialized piece of computer equipment, something even McGee was having trouble working with, could require them bringing in a specialist in that hardware, thus bringing Professor Randy to HQ. An offhanded comment about Gibbs and/or Mike Franks (Randy or McGee citing one of Gibbs' Rules which the other recognized? Commiserating that their bosses and technology didn't get along very well at all?) could lead the team to make the connection that Randy worked with Gibbs, Franks, and Vera Strickland.
-
L
At first I was wondering the same thing...Where is this team Gibbs was on...I mean Franks was so old during NCIS, and the lady they just showed in the Cross over "retired"...I didn't realize origins was from the 90s, that's not that long ago Gibbs original team could still have active agents working. Franks...why did he die in NCIS like he was an old man? So I am thinking, if Randy isn't working for NCIS somewhere it's because he is dead. Lala....I think she goes rogue, dies. I used to think Gibbs would end up with her though.
-
L
I think Randy left NCIS. Now he is a billionaire from a system he created that is now being used by the US Military.
-
L
Lamo! Personally know intel. Officer, who like many leave the Navy & become riff raff for private contracters, earned his PHD from Stanford & never look back. I can see Randy & the team heading North to protect State secreats, or go after Russian Spooks all over Northern California, ie; Mare Island Naval & the rest of base closures in the 90's. The possibilities are enless.
-
-
S
He became a successful stand up comedian and eventually set up a charity for single parents. He was in touch with Gibbs every so often but made difficult when he was doing the comedy circuit. The future story is the death of an ex-marine associated with the charity. After the case he finds out Gibbs is in Alaska and heads off to visit him.
-
K
Why can’t we see Lala in the present!! I would love to see all of them though I know Franks died.
-
C
I know Randolf is a good guy, but something about his character just rubs me wrong. Idk. He's "too" nice. Idk how to describe it. I really thought in the episode where there was a mole, it would be him. I keep waiting for him to betray the team and go darkside. I mean I know his birthday episode they painted him as a goody two shoes, and maybe he just is, but idk. I keep feeling like he's hiding something. But I've also learned that "good" guys like him always have some darker motive and are never as good as they seem. But that's also just me.�
-
Z
I sort of understand the suspicion, though my thoughts have never gone quite that dark. 😉 At times, when Randy is shown being his upbeat self, it almost feels like another shoe is about to drop. Even in the most recent episode, after Franks' action took him to the edge and then the show ended with a particularly nice voiceover from Harmon about how Randy was such a bright light, I was half-expecting him to throw in something like "it's too bad what happened later" or something like that at the last moment. Didn't happen, though. 😏
-
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services