‘NCIS: Origins’: Austin Stowell Talks Pride’s Advice & Diane’s Job Offer

Gibbs (Austin Stowell) gets a blast from his past he’d rather not in the Tuesday, March 17, episode of NCIS: Origins when his and Pride’s (Shea Buckner) teams’ cases overlap. It’s the very early days of the friendship we know forms between Mark Harmon and Scott Bakula‘s versions by the time of NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.

But Pride does more than help out with the case. He also clues Gibbs on what really happened back when they first met and offers him some marital advice. TV Insider spoke with Stowell about diving into this part of Gibbs’ history, the meeting of his wife Diane (Kathleen Kenny) and will they/won’t they love interest Lala (Mariel Molino), and much more. Warning: Spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 11 ahead!

Gibbs’ hatred for Pride dates back to 1981, when, in New Orleans, he punched his dad, Jackson (Robert Taylor), and tossed both of them out of a bar. As Jackson later tells Gibbs, he did, in fact, swing first. Pride also offers up some advice for Gibbs about Diane as he’s struggling with whether or not to bring him to the bar for Randy (Caleb Foote) practicing his stand-up. The secret to making a marriage, like his and Linda’s, work is to go with the flow, Pride says. (Well, we know that he and Linda don’t last.)

In the end, Gibbs does bring Diane to the bar, and she and Lala do meet, briefly, with his wife bringing up the interrogation tapes he watched nonstop. That’s also when Diane remarks that she still has to decide about the job in L.A.

Below, Austin Stowell breaks down this episode, teases what’s next (head slap?), and more. (Read what executive producers Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North had to say about this episode here.)

We know where Gibbs and Pride end up. Talk about working with Shea on that relationship throughout this episode to start building to that future we know for them.

Austin Stowell: Because there isn’t much of a past, there’s not necessarily a relationship to build. If anything, it was kind of nice that we have this incredibly charming, handsome guy coming around who the cast and crew took a liking to right away, and I was able to use that as a little bit of fire under my ass to plant those seeds at the beginning of this hatred. I mean, this is the guy who punched my father in the middle of a bar, and I don’t have the whole story as we know, but as far as Gibbs knows, he punched his dad. And one thing you don’t do is mess with Gibbs’ family. Shea and I got along well from the start, but it was something … It’s not like we were getting together to build a past because there is no past. Even the night in the bar, all I know is he’s a piano player. He’s a piano player who can’t even knock out an old man, so he’s got kind of a weak punch.

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One of my favorite references from this episode was Gibbs going undercover as Leland Spears, because we hear about that on NCIS. So how much did you know about that and the Fed Five in general going into this episode?

Yeah, I knew quite a bit about it from watching all the episodes from back when I was in my study phase, so that was fun to finally get to the Fed Five, get to see the birth of Leland Spears, which is a name that I really love personally. I think it’s like a James Bond kind of name. Leland Spears, along with Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I love all those names. And it’s something that really excites the youthful part of me, that going undercover, getting the bad guys, doing it in a way with much better toys is a kid’s dream. Certainly something I used to build and fantasize myself as a kid, whether it was telling myself it was the bottom of the ninth inning or that I was some sort of knight out looking for his damsel in distress. These are the moments where you have to pinch yourself because it’s happening and it’s happening to you. And every day is a reminder of how lucky I am.

What is it about Pride that makes Gibbs listen to him when it comes to his marriage?

I don’t think Gibbs listens — I think he listens to everybody and nobody all at the same time. He’s such an observer with all of his senses except his mouth. He’s not great at speaking, but he takes quite a bit in. He’s a sponge. At the end of the day, Gibbs, like I said, if it’s a good idea, he’ll take it.

Speaking of that, though, how does Gibbs think that Lala and Diane meeting went?

It’s so funny because those moments to me are somehow awkward as an actor because I have a marriage that I am trying to see through, trying to get through what has been a bit of a rocky start [with Diane] while having what is obviously a strong connection to a coworker [in Lala]. There’s love there for both women. And so that was not so hard for me to portray. It’s a moment where I’m — And Mariel doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with Diane, so it was a meeting of sorts that they might’ve been ships crossing in the night as actresses here on set, but as far as working with each other, that had not happened. And so it was a bit fun to watch how they reacted to each other as well. But I mean, both of those women are exceptional human beings, amazing actresses. I mean, Kathleen is just so sweet. Everybody just talks about how sweet she is. I’ve been so lucky to have her play Diane, and she’s just what Gibbs needed.

What surprises Gibbs the most about Pride as he gets to know him and they must work together undercover?

How much the rest of the team takes to him, that he’s been there for almost two years and he can’t seem to get his head above water. And this guy saunters in, everybody seems to really like him.

Head slaps are now officially in NCIS: Origins. Vera (Diany Rodriguez) slaps Franks (Kyle Schmid), a great moment in this episode. What can you say about the first head slap for Gibbs?

I don’t think it’s a good idea to go whacking Gibbs in the back of the head. I’ll keep it short and sweet.

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But we know that it’s coming from Franks. Gibbs also tells Vera that they didn’t have a choice, but how does he feel about how she’s been pushed out of being recognized for the work she put into everything?

He doesn’t like it, but it’s the world that they live in and he’s following orders. I’m not sure he fully understands why he’s there, what he’s doing. At the end, Gibbs is a Marine. He’s been given an order to pose for a photo because they’re wanting to create some positive press for the agency. That’s all it is to him. He feels bad, but it’s not — As a Marine, you just get the job done. There really isn’t a time to figure out how you necessarily feel about something so inconsequential. In his mind, it’s a photo, moving on. In the frying pan, there’s many more fish.

We know from canon that Gibbs is going to go under Leland Spears more cases because it’s said that he’s under for multiple cases. How interested in undercover work is Gibbs at this point?

Again, it’s an order. It’s not a game to him. He’s interested in justice, helping people get closure on what might be the most traumatic days of their lives. So, while it’s a good time as an actor to step outside of Gibbs and try on some different shoes, Gibbs himself doesn’t look forward or not look forward to it. It’s just another day on the job.

How are his feelings about leadership changing this season?

He’s still in rank. Franks is his CO. Gibbs is a natural-born leader. He takes charge without even knowing it sometimes, and people follow him because he makes decisions that are typically for the greater good, and he’s not always right, but he’s not necessarily wrong either. He’s a wonderful thinker. He’s very quick. He’s very logical when it comes to others. When it comes to himself, he could take a spoonful of that medicine that — whatever brain and hat that he wears when he thinks about the team, he could use a little bit more of that when considering himself.

We know that Diane still has that decision to make about the job in LA. How does Gibbs feel about that? And what can you say about what’s coming up there?

He’s trying to work it out. He’s not going to get in the way of her trying to excel. He’s happy for her. I mean, would he prefer that she stay closer? Absolutely. But he understands that she has to pursue her dreams as well. And to be totally honest with you, I don’t think he thinks about it all that much. I think he’s got to get ready for the next day at work.

CBS

And then at work is the whole Lala situation. So what can you say about what’s coming up with those two? Because every scene, there’s all these layers.

Yeah, there’s a connection there. The attraction is prevalent and real, and he’s constantly suppressing his feelings for Lala. He just can’t go through that. He doesn’t want to go through that kind of pain again. He doesn’t want to jeopardize her or anybody else on the team with his feelings for her and with what could be a relationship there, so, he just squashes it all down, which of course at the end of the day, a powder keg waiting to blow.

Does who Gibbs is at this point think that he can ever be ready to give in to how he feels about Lala and to be ready to face that kind of pain?

I don’t think he thinks about it all that long. Whether it’s a case, whether it’s working on the boat, he busies himself to hide feelings. And there really isn’t anybody in his life. It’s so funny, as the show has gone on, I have such sympathy for him that there aren’t many people, if any, in his life that he feels like he can talk to in a way where emotional progression can take place. I mean, he went to therapy, that didn’t work out well. Family, not so great. Work relationships, a little strained. There really isn’t anybody. And so he just dives into the job. He finds purpose and he finds relief of some nature that we all have our self-defense mechanisms, and his is to just keep showing up.

He doesn’t even have a Gary Callahan like Franks does.

Right. That’s a great point. He’s got the boats. And as somebody who works with their hands in my free time, I do understand that, that there is some sort of therapeutic relief to that. And I love that line about making the wood right, that you’re striving for something that’s there and you just have to reveal it.

NCIS: Origins, Tuesdays, 9/8c, CBS