NCIS boss flew to Australia to convince Michael Weatherly to take DiNozzo role
NCIS' Michael Weatherly may not have become Agent Tony DiNozzo if the show's creator didn't fly to Australia to speak to him.
An NCIS boss jumped on a plane, travelling to the other side of the world to get Michael Weatherly on board the drama.
NCIS wouldn’t have grown into the international success it became 20 years ago if it wasn’t for its beloved cast that was there from the very beginning.
Agent Leroy Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon), Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum) and Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) starred in the first episode Yankee White and continued to build the CBS drama into what fans know it to be today.
Charming DiNozzo was a particular fan-favourite with his cheeky demeanour and movie obsession for 13 seasons before his upsetting departure.
It wasn’t always guaranteed Weatherly was going to take on the role though as he was busy working on another project.
As NCIS was slowly being brought to life on the page, the 55-year-old was Down Under, portraying actor Robert Wagner in the ABC series The Mystery of Natalie Wood.
The Hollywood actress, who was married to Wagner, died under mysterious circumstances during a weekend boat trip with her husband when she drowned.
The fact Weatherly was in Australia though wasn’t going to put off NCIS creator Don Bellisario from casting him as Tony DiNozzo.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, casting director Susan Bluestein shed some light on what happened.
She explained: “I loved Michael Weatherly. But he happened to not be available because he was in Australia [playing Robert Wagner for ABC’s] The Mystery of Natalie Wood.
“Don was also going to Australia and had a place there, and they went out to dinner.
“And, of course, later on, Robert Wagner would end up playing Michael Weatherly’s father in the show, which was really ironic.”
Wagner, who is known for Hart to Hart and Takes A Thief, joined the cast of NCIS in 2010 as Anthony DiNozzo Snr.
Tony had a difficult relationship with his dad growing up as he was an alcoholic but gradually, they have been able to work on their issues.
DiNozzo Snr was last seen in 2019 when he informed the team he had received a letter from his son and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), talking of their new life in Paris.
NCIS is available to watch on CBS and Disney+.
