How ‘NCIS’ Universe Characters Compare to Their ‘NCIS: Origins’ Counterparts: Gibbs, Ducky, Pride

Credit: CBS (4)

How ‘NCIS’ Universe Characters Compare to Their ‘NCIS: Origins’ Counterparts: Gibbs, Ducky, Pride

NCIS paved the way for numerous spinoffs since its 2003 premiere — including the prequel series, NCIS: Origins, which fans will notice features more than one familiar character. When NCIS began, it followed Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon, and his team of naval investigators stationed in Washington, D.C. More than 20 years later, CBS created NCIS: Origins, which shows how Gibbs, now played by Austin Stowell, got started as a naval investigator in 1991. During season 1 of the prequel series in 2024, fans were introduced to not only the younger version of Gibbs but that of his mentor, Mike Franks (played by Kyle Schmid), and even more OG characters. Season 2 brought a young Donald “Ducky” Mallard to San Diego for an episode. It also featured the first NCIS: New Orleans character to make a crossover with Dwayne Pride. Scroll down to see how the original NCIS universe characters compare to their NCIS: Origins counterparts:

Credit: CBS (4)

How ‘NCIS’ Universe Characters Compare to Their ‘NCIS: Origins’ Counterparts: Gibbs, Ducky, Pride

NCIS paved the way for numerous spinoffs since its 2003 premiere — including the prequel series, NCIS: Origins, which fans will notice features more than one familiar character. When NCIS began, it followed Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon, and his team of naval investigators stationed in Washington, D.C. More than 20 years later, CBS created NCIS: Origins, which shows how Gibbs, now played by Austin Stowell, got started as a naval investigator in 1991. During season 1 of the prequel series in 2024, fans were introduced to not only the younger version of Gibbs but that of his mentor, Mike Franks (played by Kyle Schmid), and even more OG characters. Season 2 brought a young Donald “Ducky” Mallard to San Diego for an episode. It also featured the first NCIS: New Orleans character to make a crossover with Dwayne Pride. Scroll down to see how the original NCIS universe characters compare to their NCIS: Origins counterparts:

Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS; Erik Voake/CBS

Leroy Jethro Gibbs

The character of Gibbs was originated by Mark Harmon on JAG in a 2003 backdoor pilot for NCIS, which premiered that same year. He played the head of the Washington, D.C. NCIS office for 18 seasons, departing at the start of season 19 in 2021. Harmon also played Gibbs on several episodes of NCIS: New Orleans during crossover episodes.

Harmon serves as the narrator on NCIS: Origins and has portrayed the older version of Gibbs when the story lends itself to a cameo.

Austin Stowell took the helm as young Gibbs on NCIS: Origins, which premiered in October 2024. When the prequel begins, Gibbs has just lost his wife, Shannon, and their daughter, Kelly, and is trying to figure out how to move on after being a soldier — and without closure of who killed his family.

“It’s a daunting task to recreate Gibbs and to go back and try to tell this story while being respectful to the fans and to the story line of the original show,” Stowell exclusively told Luxury Handbag Shopping in November 2024. “We want to do our best job as actors, as artists, as writers and storytellers. While there could be a lot of pressure, Mark Harmon makes us feel so comfortable and he makes us feel justified in our decisions.”

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Mike Franks

When fans were introduced to Gibbs’ mentor and former boss, Mike Franks, on NCIS in 2006, he was played by Muse Watson. Watson portrayed the gruff and hardheaded character on and off from season 3 to season 8, with his final appearance coming during season 15.

Kyle Schmid has played the younger version of Franks on NCIS: Origins since its 2024 premiere. In the prequel, Franks runs the NIS office at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. (It is not called NCIS yet!)

After working on Gibbs’ family’s murder case, Franks pulls Gibbs into the world of naval investigation and starts him on the path to one day running the office.

“It’s hard for him to say the right things and not be so blunt sometimes. But at the same time, for me, in this hippie cowboy way, Mike has the biggest heart in the room, at all times, and he loves courageously,” Schmid exclusively told Us in November 2024, noting he “clicked” right away with Watson while working on the role of Franks. “He takes on the weight of other people’s lives, and he trusts. That’s kind of like the hippie in him. That loving human with this gruff exterior, this rusty armor.”

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Donald “Ducky” Mallard

The late David McCallum originated the character of NCIS medical examiner Ducky, who starred on the flagship series for 20 seasons prior to his death. McCallum died in September 2023 at the age of 90.

The character of Ducky, however, is different because viewers met the younger version of the character on NCIS — not NCIS: Origins. In 2014, Adam Campbell made his debut as young Ducky to show a little more about the character’s background and life in England pre-NCIS. He reprised the role three more times on the original series.

In October 2025, Campbell crossed over to NCIS: Origins, once again playing young Ducky. This time, fans of the prequel saw Ducky and Gibbs reunite 12 years after their first meeting and learned why the medical examiner began talking to the dead as part of his iconic autopsy style.

“There's a maybe a slightly more lighthearted tone to the mothership that I think I noticed with Origins,” Campbell exclusively told Us in October 2025 of the differences between the shows. “[Origins] does take more of a darker mood at times. … Everyone is incredibly friendly. There's this sense of pulling together. Everyone is very supportive. So, I'd say both shows have that same ethos.”

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Tobias Fornell

FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell was introduced during season 1 of NCIS. He was played by Joe Spano in a recurring role from 2003 to 2024. Throughout his time on the series, Fornell and Gibbs bonded over their relationships with Diane Sterling — who was married to and divorced them both. Gibbs even acted as an uncle to Fornell and Diane’s daughter, Emily.

During season 1 of NCIS: Origins, fans met the younger Fornell, played by Lucas Dixon. He was brought in during episode 6, marking the first meeting between Fornell and Gibbs. Fornell was one of two FBI agents that NIS connected with for intel on the episode.

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Diane Sterling

Melinda McGraw portrayed Gibbs’ first ex-wife — and second wife after Shannon’s death — Diane Sterling on NCIS. She made her debut in 2011 and reprised the role five more times throughout the series.

The younger version of Diane, played by Kathleen Kenny, first appeared during the season 1 finale of NCIS: Origins in April 2025. At the time, the newly minted real estate agent was introduced to Gibbs while seeking to sell his house. When season 2 of the series began, Gibbs and Diane were officially dating and they later got married in Las Vegas.

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Vera Strickland

Special Agent Vera Strickland, played by Roma Maffia, was introduced on NCIS during season 11 in 2013, as one of Gibbs’ former coworkers. She had a brief cameo, and once NCIS: Origins premiered in 2024, fans were able to dive deeper into who she was.

Diany Rodriguez has been playing Vera — who helped create a criminal profiling database in the ‘90s — since season 1 of Origins. During the November 2025 crossover episode, viewers saw both versions of Vera back to back.

The Origins episode showed Vera working alongside Gibbs and the Pendleton team on a case where they knew an innocent man confessed to murder. Thirty years later, NCIS caught a case involving the same man escaping from prison. The grown-up Vera (Maffia) reprised her role to help the Washington, D.C. team clear his name and save the day.

Credit: CBS/Everett Collection; CBS

Dwayne Pride

Dwayne Pride became the first character from NCIS: New Orleans to crossover to NCIS: Origins in March 2026. The original character was brought to life by Scott Bakula when New Orleans premiered in 2014. Throughout the CBS series — which ran for seven seasons and ended in 2021 — Pride, or “King” as he was called by many, ran the NCIS office in the Big Easy.

During season 2 of NCIS: Origins, Shea Buckner brought a young Pride to life when he was just an NIS Panama agent.

“He ends up becoming ‘King’ because he takes down a giant smuggling ring [prior to NCIS: New Orleans]. What we're seeing [on Origins] is the introduction to some of the stuff that ties into the ports and the shipping lanes,” Buckner exclusively told Us in March 2026. “We're seeing the crime that's originating around that [and] his obsession to take down a crime ring.”

The episode also shows the beginning of Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell on Origins) friendship with Pride and their backstory before they respected each other.