Michael Weatherly is well-known for playing Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo on NCIS, but the actor has now revealed he almost didn’t join the cast of the hit crime show
Michael Weatherly might be a firm favorite among NCIS fans, but he’s now admitted he almost didn’t join the show.
The 56-year-old actor played Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo in NCIS and will be reprising the role for the 2025 spinoff, NCIS: Tony & Ziva. However, he was initially “a little reluctant” to be a part of the cast.
Michael admitted he wasn’t originally sold on the idea of starring in the crime drama due to its roots as a spinoff of JAG. He explained how the association carried a stigma which he wasn’t sure he wanted to take on.
Despite his worries, Michael agreed to meet with NCIS creator Don Bellisario. The pair met in Australia and it turned out to be a huge moment for Michael’s career.
Speaking to The Futon Critic, Michael explained, “I was a little reluctant initially. But I went and had this dinner with Don Bellisario in Austrailia and his personality, his storytelling and his presence and everything kind of won me over.”
He continued, “I just wanted to meet him as a fan of like Magnum, P.I. And then getting into with him, I was like this could work.”
Michael agreed to take part in the pilot episode and approach the show with an open mind. Luckily, the show was a huge success and Michael went on to become a huge part of the NCIS universe.
Michael appeared on NCIS for an impressive 13 seasons, but he decided to leave the show after suffering from burnout. Luckily for fans, the actor will soon be back for the NCIS: Tony & Ziva spinoff, which will see him reunite with his on-screen love interest Cote de Pablo, who plays Ziva David.
The show will start with the pair being reunited off-screen in Paris. Tony and Ziva reunited after he had initially believed she was dead. Tony had been raising their daughter alone, but it was later revealed Ziva had faked her death to protect her family from a woman named Sahar, who wanted to kill her.
In the new spinoff, their lives are thrown into chaos when Tony’s security company is attacked. Tony and Ziva go on the run and try to figure out who is after them, all while raising their daughter, Tali.
Cote has promised fans the spinoff will be action-packed and suggested Tony and Ziva will have trouble reaching their “happily ever after”. She told Variety: “We’re trying to address the idea of trust and we’re trying to address how they move forward parenting together with this child and trying to make things work and having a lot of challenges thrown at them.”