Who Plays Mike Franks On NCIS?

In the mold of "Young Sheldon," Mark Harmon is returning to the NCIS universe for a "Young Gibbs" series of sorts titled "NCIS: Origins." One character confirmed for this prequel show is Michael Aaron Franks, more commonly referred to as just Mike Franks. As dedicated "NCIS" fans are aware, Franks played a pivotal role in Harmon's character Leroy Jethro Gibbs landing a leadership role in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, hence his inclusion in "NCIS: Origins."

Portraying Franks throughout "NCIS" is an actor named Muse Watson. While Franks is among the defining roles of Watson's career, the character of his that's most likely been talked about more than any other is villain Ben Willis in the 1997 slasher, "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Watson had already been acting for about a decade prior to landing this role, but that work consisted predominately of brief appearances in TV shows and movies like "Matlock" and Adrian Lyne's "Lolita" adaptation. Following something of a breakout performance in "Something to Talk About," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" propelled him to new heights.

In an interview solely about his "I Know What You Did Last Summer" character, Watson told Vulture that he landed the part because the film's producers wanted somebody with a kind personality to play its killer, and he fit the bill. It was his kindness in conjunction with his acting talent, then, that put him on the trajectory to his pivotal "NCIS" role.

Once Muse Watson proved that he was good at playing a bad guy in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," Hollywood took note and some subsequent projects cast him as their villain, too. He soon reprised his iconic character in a sequel film titled "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer."

Watson did a lot more than just play villains, however. In fact, in 1998, he portrayed a character unrelated to Mike Franks in an episode of "JAG," the show that eventually spawned "NCIS." The following year, he was a main cast member in "From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money." Career highlights from the end of the '90s and into the 2000s include parts in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," "Criminal Minds," and "CSI."

In 2005, Watson debuted on "Prison Break" in what remains one of his most substantial roles to date. The actor took on the role of Charles Westmoreland, a prisoner at Fox River State Penitentiary. In total, he appears as Charles in 18 episodes of Season 1, in addition to a brief reprisal in one episode of Season 4. This is just one shy of his 20 total episodes of "NCIS."

Given its jump backward in time, a younger actor is all but guaranteed to take over the part of Mike Franks in "NCIS: Origins." Fans of Watson's "NCIS" work, however, can turn to plenty of additional material for more from the prolific TV and movie actor.