NCIS: Origins Star Told Me The Stunt That 'Produces The Most Injuries,' And I Did Not See It Coming

Last week on the 2026 TV schedule, NCIS: Origins viewers got to see the first official meeting between Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Dwayne Pride, the future lead character of NCIS: New Orleans. Oh sure, they briefly ran into each other in New Orleans in 1981, but this marked their first time working together as law enforcement professionals. But they didn’t get along at first, and during this rocky start, they did something that, much to my surprise when I learned it from Gibbs actor Austin Stowell, is actually the stunt that “produces the most injuries.”

During “Feelin’ Alright?”, Gibbs and Pride, played by Only in the Murders in the Building’s Shea Buckner, arm wrestle each other to a cheering crowd at the NIS Pendleton office, with Randy being especially entertained by the spectacle. When I recently had the opportunity to interview Stowell, I asked him whether he and Buckner arm wrestled for real on the NCIS: Origins set, and he informed me:

Now I’m curious to know what past instances of arm wrestling on Hollywood productions resulted in these stunt experts warning off actors from actually going for it in these scenes requiring this show of strength. Regardless, I got a kick out of Austin Stowell saying that he and Shea Buckner ignored that advice just a smidge, though thankfully this didn’t result in any injuries. By the way, for those curious, Stowell is referencing at the end how Buckner competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics for the United States’ water polo team.

But like he said, he’s in pretty good for his age. Tom Cruise told Austin Stowell as much when he visited the NCIS: Origins set last October. Besides, we know that the Origins cast and crew have Stowell’s back where it counts. But yeah, if a former Olympian was in the mix, I might have ended up rooting for him as well.

Since we know Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Dwayne Pride and the rest of the Fed 5 will team back up in 1994 to hunt down the Privileged Killer, that means depending on how long NCIS: Origins runs for, we’ll eventually see Shea Buckner reprising Pride. For now, there are six episodes left to go in Season 2’s run, which you can either watch live Tuesdays nights at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, or stream afterwards with your Paramount+ subscription. Origins Season 3 has also been ordered for the 2026-2027 broadcast season.