Austin Stowell

Austin Stowell
Born
Austin Miles Stowell

(1984-12-24) December 24, 1984 (age 40)
EducationBerlin High School (Connecticut)
Alma materUniversity of Connecticut
Occupation(s)Actor, Producer
Years active2009–present

Austin Miles Stowell (born December 24, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Dolphin Tale, its sequel Dolphin Tale 2, Love and Honor (2013), Whiplash (2014), Francis Gary Powers in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies (2015),[1][2][3][4] Nately in Catch-22 (2019), The Hating Game (2021) and Young Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the prequel series NCIS: Origins.

Early life

Stowell was born as the youngest of three sons, in Kensington, Connecticut. There, he was raised by his father, Robert (a retired steelworker), and his mother, Elizabeth (a schoolteacher).[5]

He graduated from Berlin High School in 2003, to pursue a professional career in acting. Upon acceptance at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, he studied with the Department of Dramatic Arts, a division of the School of Fine Arts.[2] He performed in several productions with the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, including Julius Caesar, It Can't Happen Here, and As You Like It and won the prestigious Nafe Katter Award for best performer his senior year. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2007[6] Upon graduating, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally.

Career

Austin made his television debut in 2009 playing Jesse on ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”, which ended up turning into a recurring guest role. Later, he appeared as Chad in an episode of the Comedy Central sitcom “Secret Girlfriend”.

The next year, Austin appeared in episodes of “90210” and “NCIS: Los Angeles” before making his feature film debut in 2011 as an ER medic in the drama “Puncture” starring Chris Evans. Also that year, he would star alongside Harry Connick, Jr. and Nathan Gamble in “Dolphin Tale”, a story centered on the friendship between a boy and a dolphin whose tail was lost in a crab trap, as Kyle Connellan. He next appeared in the short film “Can You Watch This” and starred in “Without a Mom”.

In 2013, Austin starred as Dalton Joiner alongside Liam Hemsworth in the historical romantic drama “Love and Honor”, which also starred Teresa Palmer and Aimee Teagarden. He would also make an appearance as a backstage flirt in the biographical drama “Behind the Candelabra” starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. Also been in short film titled “Cause of Death” and the Hallmark movie “A Way Back Home”.


In 2014 began with being a part of the incredible ensemble for the critically acclaimed drama “Whiplash”, where he portrayed the role of Ryan. The film follows a promising young drummer enrolling at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential. Later in the year, he appeared in “Warren” as Ted Gordon and “Behaving Badly” as Kevin Carpenter before returning to his character Kyle Connellan in Dolphin Tale 2. Austin finished the year with a short film titled “I Can See You”, playing the 26-year-old version of the character Derek.


In 2015 to star alongside Edward Burns in the series “Public Morals” playing the role of Sean O’Bannon. The series follows the New York City Public Morals Division in the 1960s, where cops walk the line between morality and criminality as the temptations that come from dealing with all kinds of vice can get the better of them. In November, Austin would portray Francis Gary Powers in the Steven Spielberg historical drama “Bridge of Spies”, which starred Tom Hanks. In 2016, he played Eddie in “In Dubious Battle” alongside James Franco and Vincent D’Onofrio, followed by Joel in “Colossal” with Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis.

In 2017, Austin starred alongside Dominic Cooper as Hank in “Stratton”, a film following a British Special Boat Service commando tracks down an international terrorist cell. Later, he portrayed Larry King in “Battle of the Sexes”, which followed the true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs. The film starred Emma Stone and Steve Carell. Austin was also featured in the television movie “Controversy” as Matt Kellerman opposite Anthony Edwards and Erin Moriarty.


In 2018 he in the historical action drama “12 Strong” where he portrayed Fred Falls. The film tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain, the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban. “12 Strong” starred Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, and Michael Peña. Austin followed up with the sci-fi film “Higher Power” as Michael. In 2019 he portrays the role of Nately in the Hulu mini-series “Catch-22”, based on the classic Joseph Heller novel, before starring opposite Haley Bennet in “Swallow”, playing the role of Richie Conrad.

In 2020, Austin played one of the main characters in Blumhouse’sFantasy Island” as Patrick Sullivan, which follows a collection of guests to live out their most elaborate fantasies in relative seclusion on a luxurious island. The film also starred Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, and Ryan Hansen. He would also portray Lieutenant Theodore Cole in an episode of the Apple TV+ series “Amazing Stories”, the episode follows a WWII pilot crashing in modern-day Ohio, where a young widow and her stepson are swept up in his search for home.


Austin appeared in an episode of “The White Lotus” as a hotel guest in 2021. During the holiday season, he would reunite with his Fantasy Island co-star Lucy Hale for the adaptation of Sally Thorne’s beloved romance novel The Hating Game where Austin portrayed Joshua Templeman. In summer of 2022 brought in the Netflix mini series Keep Breathing, where he portrayed the role of Sam. The series follows Liv, the lone survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. In 2023 brought Peacock’s A Friend of the Family limited series, where Austin portrayed Pete Welch. The series follows the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years in the 1970s by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend”, it quickly went to the #1 spot on Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows in US.

In March 2024, he was announced to play a young Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the brand new NCIS series NCIS: Origins, following his character as he begins his journey in the Naval Investigative Service (NIS). The series is premiered on October 14th.

He also starring in “The Inheritance” was released in June, where Austin portrayed Drew Abernathy alongside Peyton List and Rachel Nichols. He also appeared in a few episodes of the Showtime mini-series “Three Women”, starring Shailene Woodley and Betty Gilpin.


Austin’s upcoming projects include The Long Home, a film directed and starring James Franco, and The Tempting Madness, a thriller written and directed by Jennifer E. Montgomery.

Personal Life

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Puncture ER medic
Dolphin Tale Kyle Connellan
Can You Watch This Good samaritan Short film
2012 Without a Mom Brooklyn Short film
2013 Cause of Death Guy in shower Short film
Love and Honor Dalton Joiner
2014 Whiplash Ryan Connolly
Warren Ted Gordon
Behaving Badly Kevin Carpenter
Dolphin Tale 2 Kyle Connellan
I Can See You Derek (age 26) Short film
2015 Bridge of Spies Francis Gary Powers
2016 Remarkable Shades of Gay Brooklyn
In Dubious Battle Eddie
Colossal Joel
2017 Stratton Hank
Battle of the Sexes Larry King
2018 12 Strong Staff Sgt. Fred Falls
Higher Power Michael
2019 Swallow Richie
2020 Fantasy Island Patrick Sullivan
2021 The Hating Game Joshua Templeman Also executive producer
2024 The Inheritance Drew
TBA The Long Home
This Tempting Madness Jake

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009–2011 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Jesse 15 episodes
2009 Secret Girlfriend Chad Episode: "You Get an Aquarium Girl"
2010 90210 Episode: "Senior Year, Baby"
NCIS: Los Angeles PFC James Winston Episode: "Special Delivery"
2013 Behind the Candelabra Backstage flirt Television film
Shuffleton's Barbershop Trey Cole Television film
2015 Public Morals Sean O'Bannon 10 episodes
2019 Catch-22 Nately Series regular
2020 Amazing Stories Lieutenant Theodore Cole Episode: "The Rift"
2021 The White Lotus Hotel Guest Episode: "Departures"
2022 Keep Breathing Sam 4 of 6 episodes
A Friend of the Family FBI Agent Pete Walsh Miniseries
2024 Three Women Aidan Recurring Role (4 episodes)
NCIS: Origins Leroy Jethro Gibbs Main Role[7]

References

  1. ^ "Austin Stowell". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2015. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Lawrence, Olivia L. (November 14, 2010). "Stowell's star is rising". The Berlin Citizen. Berlin, Connecticut. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011.
  3. ^ Schreffler, Laura (September 30, 2010). "HOLLYHUNK! Rob Pattinson & Zac Efron, You've Got Competition — Meet Hollywood Hottie Austin Stowell!". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  4. ^ Cuttler, Andrea (22 October 2015). "Will 2015 Be Austin Stowell's Breakout Year? Steven Spielberg Thinks So". Vanity Fair.
  5. ^ Mayer, Robert (September 24, 2011). "Bright Lights, Big City...Berlin?". Berlin Patch.
  6. ^ Falcone, Amanda. ""Bridge of Spies" Actor Credits UConn for his Magnanimity". UCONN Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 4, 2024). "'NCIS: Origins' Finds Its Young Gibbs: Austin Stowell To Star In CBS Prequel Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 4, 2024.