Mark Harmon‘s Leroy Jethro Gibbs anchored NCIS for 18 years. Now, as the executive producer and narrator of its prequel series NCIS: Origins, he just could sense that Austin Stowell was fit to Gibbs’ younger self.

While speaking to People, Harmon recalled Stowell’s audition, noting that he “felt the room jump a little when Austin came in, before he said anything.”

“He walked out and someone said, ‘I’ll just say it, that’s a movie star,'” he added.

Harmon noted that “there was heavy competition” for Stowell’s role, admitting that “there were a lot of good people.”

“I would say that there were really few who drew the attention Austin did,” he explained. “I can say that about any role that was cast in this show, because they all came in one after another. We got everybody we wanted.”

NCIS: Origins also stars Mariel Molino, Kyle Schmid, Tyla Abercrumbie, Diany Rodriguez and Caleb Foote. The series premiered on Monday (Oct. 14), and received a “STREAM IT” from DECIDER contributor Joel Keller in his NCIS: Origins review. Harmon also made a special appearance in last night’s debut.

In an interview with Variety, Harmon explained why his son Sean, who serves as an executive producer for NCIS: Origins and who played a young Gibbs on seven episodes of the flagship series, did not take back the role.

“He’s an actor, writer, produce, a surfer, he does a lot of things. You have to come to decisions about what you want to do in life, or what you think’s important. I just think he made a choice and had to make a decision in some ways,” he shared, adding that Sean “likes executive producing.”

NCIS: Origins airs new episodes on Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET on CBS . Next-day streaming is available on Paramount+ .