NCIS star Michael Weatherly has revealed which of his former co-stars inspired his portrayal of Tony DiNozzo.
The actor played the flagship series’ film-loving agent for 13 seasons, before leaving with his daughter Tali following his partner Ziva David’s believed death.
Speaking on his new podcast NCIS: Off Duty, Weatherly explained how his Dark Angel co-star Jensen Ackles – who played soldier Alec McDowell – helped him define Tony’s characteristics.
“He was so loose and free and I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll imitate him a little bit’ and I’m such a bad mimic it doesn’t matter, because no one will ever recognise that I’m doing Jensen Ackles,” he said.
“I started coming in with all these ideas, watching all these movies with Cary Grant and thinking, ‘What did he do? How do I do that?’ and applying so many things to it.”
“I would do Tom Hanks, I would do Alec Baldwin from Glengarry Glen Ross, whatever came into my mind to amuse myself, and pretty much p*** off everyone that I was working with,” he added.
The actor went on to detail the “years of experimentation” that led to him finding the nature of his character, saying: “I covered my dressing room mirrors with paper so that I did not see my reflection.
“I didn’t want to go into the hair and make-up trailer, because I didn’t want to think about it. And then, I put all these pieces together and I found through those first two seasons, glimpses of what it could be.”
It was announced earlier this year that Weatherly would reunite with Ziva actor Cote de Pablo for a 10-episode series set in Europe. Filming is set to begin in Budapest later this year.
According to its official synopsis, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will follow Tony, Ziva and their daughter Tali as they are forced to go on the run across the continent after Tony’s security firm is attacked.
As well as starring in the new series, Weatherly and de Pablo will also executive produce, with John McNamara serving as showrunner.
“We’ve been talking about this story for many years, and now with John McNamara at the helm, we are ready,” said the lead actors following the show’s announcement.
“The world of Tony and Ziva promises to be an action-packed rollercoaster fuelled by love, danger, tears and laughter.”