Who is Philip Winchester? Everything to know about the actor as he guest stars in NCIS: Origins season 2

November 4, 2025, saw Philip Winchester appear on NCIS: Origins season 2 as his character, Mason Franks, arrived in town to reunite with his brother Mike Franks, played by Kyle Schmidt, a series regular. While the first season of the show hinted at a fallout between the two Franks brothers, this season found Mason reaching out to Mike after facing a setback. Incidentally, actor Philip Winchester joined the cast as a guest actor.

As viewers already know, NCIS: Origins season 2 premiered on October 14, 2025, taking the story further after the cliffhanger in season 1. As of writing this article, the show has aired four episodes. The first episode presented Mike’s team struggling to handle crime as Lala was on a long path of recovery after her car crash injury in season 1. Protagonist Gibbs was learning his job while dating Diane.

The second episode highlighted Lala’s strained equation with Gibbs after her return as the team investigated a swimmer’s death. Gibbs was also shown to make some mistakes in trying to prove himself. However, Lala realized that Gibbs looked up to her and she decided to set a good example.

While the third episode was named The Edge as a tribute to the late actor, David McCallum, who played Ducky Mallard in the original NCIS series, it brought in Adam Campbell again to play a younger Ducky. The fourth episode brought out the past fallout between the Franks brothers in the backdrop of a bank robbery case Mike was handling.

A glimpse at actor Philip Winchester’s career

Philip Winchester was born in Montana. He later attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art while working in London. He started his career with a brief appearance in The Patriot in 1998. Some of his other noteworthy movies include Duchess, Endangered Species, Rogue, Undrafted, In My Sleep, Solomon Kane, The Heart of the Earth, Flyboys, Thunderbirds, LD 50 Lethal Dose and more.

Winchester has been active on many television projects that include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Strike Back, Crusoe, Chicago Justice, Camelot, The Player, Leopard Skin, Fringe, Chicago P.D, Alice, Maneater, and many more. He has been part of many television movies.

Winchester was involved with stage plays in his early career. One of his well-known roles was playing Edmund in King Lear in the 2007 production by Royal Shakespeare Company. While he is guest-starring on NCIS: Origins season 2 as Mason Franks, he also recently appeared as Sheriff Dan Brigman on Ransom Canyon.

A quick look at Winchester’s character on NCIS: Origins season 2

While fans were aware in season 1 that Mike Franks had a past fallout with his brother, the back story was left unsaid. However, NCIS: Origins season 2 episode 4, titled No Man left Behind, saw Mason arrive in town to meet Mike. Played by Philip Winchester, Mason communicated his desperation as he was going to lose their family farm. Initially upset that his long-estranged brother landed at his home, Mike came around soon.

However, Winchester’s Mason was seen expressing his despair as he explained the situation of their deceased mother’s verbal agreement with the buyer of their property. When the buyer passed, his heirs refused to acknowledge the original understanding between the buyer and the seller. While they were throwing Mason out of his family home, the latter loaned money from wrong kind of people, leaving him vulnerable to assaults.

NCIS: Origins season 2 episode 4 also presented the back story about Mike’s fallout with his family and the reason for the disconnect. The fallout between the two brothers was resolved after both talked things out. While admitting that Mike turned out alright after being left on his own, Mason further requested his brother for a lawyer. Mike reached out to Gibbs who got Diane to help Mason.

Finally, Mason declared that he was proud of his brother. In return, Mike introduced Mason to the Range and promised to help him start over. Whether Winchester’s Mason will make more appearances on the show remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, catch the new episodes of NCIS: Origins season 2 on CBS every Tuesday.