Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) will go through it when an old case comes up.

On the November 4 episode of NCIS: OriginsWith the countdown to an execution, Franks races to find the location of a death row inmate’s missing body and fulfill a promise he made to the victim’s sister before time runs out. Below, Schmid previews how it’s happening, talks playing Franks, teases what’s coming with this premiere file, and more.

Obviously, we had an idea of ​​who Mike Franks is, based on what we know from the original series. But what surprises you the most as you get to know him as he was back then?

Kyle Schmid: It’s interesting because I get to know him through our writings. I get to know him every day because I am him. I become him. So that’s a pretty interesting question, because I’m going to tell you one of the best parts of working on this show, because someone who’s been in the industry for 30 years, is that once a week, I get an email with our new storyline and I have no idea. what it’s going to be. And it’s such an exciting time to go there, that’s it. That’s what I’m going to do next week. It’s scary because you just hope it’s good. And then you have a little bit of ego and you’re like, I hope I have a lot of it.

Then the most important thing is: how will they write my character and how will I bring him to life? And with (showrunners) David (J. North) and Gina (Lucita Monreal), I’m never short of blown away by the integrity of the writing and the voices of these characters. And every week I end up sending them a text or email thanking them for the dialogue, the character, and the writing. It’s such an amazing thing to be able to do because they challenge me on a regular basis.

Sonja Flemming/CBS

And we meet this character who was grandfathered into that original series because of his relationship with Gibbs (Austin Stowell). And we see how he became and why he’s this gruff character that Gibbs admires so much and without pressure or anything. (Laughter) But our writers give me these scenes that are so well written and so thoughtful. And then Franks voice, I think, feels so true to me that I can put on my boots every day and go to work and do what I love and become this man who has a heart as big as this world, who loves his family, his motley crew of NIS misfits that he was dying for, and would go to work with them. And that’s kind of what I feel when I go to work in the studio. I love my cast and I love my crew, and I can go to work with a smile on my face every day.

This next episode is very stressful for Franks. Overview of this matter and how he will handle it. It gives us a taste of what he was like before we even see him now.

Yeah, so, Franks says in the episode, “Rookie mistake, making a promise like that.” Promising someone closure, promising someone you can ease their emotional pain through loss, like what (the victim’s sister) is trying to process in this episode, I mean, what a thing impossible to give to anyone. And yet, because Franks wears his heart on his sleeve and becomes so emotionally connected to trying to uphold his end of the bargain, it tears him apart. He takes emotional responsibility for something impossible. And that’s how he slowly reveals himself in this episode when he’s given a second chance to right this wrong, to keep this promise that he couldn’t make years before.

I think there’s something admirable about the emotion that he feels, the fact that he really takes responsibility for his words and that promise and the fact that it eats away at him. I think there is something valuable about the type of person who takes responsibility and feels guilty for their actions. And I think that’s a wonderful trait of Franks. And so we get to see him, through this episode, unravel and feel all the pain his sister feels and the ups and downs. I mean, what a crazy episode. When they handed it to me, I remember calling David and Gina and almost crying because I was so excited to bring this to life. And it also made me fall in love with Franks.

Sonja Flemming/CBS

The season started with this introduction to this mystery with Franks, the file and Vera (Diane Rodriguez). What can you say about it? It kind of highlights the relationship between Franks and Vera because we see the tension there, especially in this upcoming episode, but he trusts her, and this file plays a role in that.

He trusts her. (Laughter) This is such a loaded question because everything with Franks cuts to the heart, and I think that’s what the audience most identifies with with his character. This file has the ability to empower Franks and completely destroy him. And that’s a very dangerous tool on this show. So what’s in this file is something that personally, as an actor and as Franks, I’m very excited to see what happens with it.

I hear you’re planning to participate in Movember. Why is this important to you?

I run a campaign called Men for Mental. So men for mental change, men for understanding the psychological type of life’s struggles and hoping that we can make this a much more common conversation between men, trying to eliminate the stigma around mental health of men. And ideally, I wanted to – it’s okay to not be okay. Most people are not always well. And I’ve lost friends to mental health. I have lost friends to suicide. I live in an industry where so many people are celebrated for being good-hearted, but which also invites an often unbearable vulnerability and vulnerability into our lives. We live our lives under a microscope. I also lost my mother in November last year.

I’m really sorry.

THANKS. But through this experience, I also realized that I thought she was in a better place. And I saw how much it affected my family. I recognize how much this has affected me, and I understand what it feels like to deal with so many emotions and be surrounded by loved ones, but I also understand what it feels like to be alone at the same time . And so I started having conversations with friends in the industry who are just opening up, and we start having these conversations and I say, just give me 15 minutes of your time so we can talk about this . Each conversation lasted an hour. Every conversation turns into an opportunity to talk openly about life and an opportunity to shed the stigma, put on that kind of brave, courageous jacket and talk honestly about things. And I think it’s been extremely rewarding to just be able to take the opportunity to talk to friends and then hopefully people can see these videos and turn to their loved ones or turn to their brother or turn towards their friend and ask, how are you really doing? However? How are you ? It’s good. It’s all good, man. You are not alone. So it’s very important to me.

And it was also important for me to take advantage of the opportunity to… When I wasn’t on a show and I had these kind of giant waves throughout my career, and I always said, when I’m on a show, I’m going to do something to make a difference. And then you’re on a show and all of a sudden you’re working 15 hour days and you’re trying to juggle – I just had a little girl and I have a family and responsibilities and it’s so easy to blink eyes and life passes you by. And I didn’t want that to happen again. I think Movember has been a great partner in this. I think Mike Franks will have one of the most iconic mustaches on television this year and hopefully for many years to come. And I thought it was a great opportunity to team up with Movember.

Gillette jumped on board and donated $10,000 for us right off the bat because they believed in our cause. And we have (a bunch of) people. And just by word of mouth, we went from four interviews to 15 in three days, and there’s an excitement in talking about something that I think actually makes a difference.

NCIS: OriginsMondays, 10/9c, CBS