Anthony DiNozzo
Anthony D. "Tony" DiNozzo Jr. is a fictional character in the CBS series NCIS, portrayed by Michael Weatherly. Created by Donald P. Bellisario, he appears as the senior field agent on Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ team for the first thirteen seasons, known for his charm, pop-culture humor and investigative skill. Early reception was mixed due to his chauvinistic behavior, though the character grew more positively received over time.
DiNozzo departs the series in season thirteen after learning he has a daughter with Ziva David, who is believed to have died. Weatherly later made a cameo in the season 21 episode "The Stories We Leave Behind" and subsequently reprised the role alongside Cote de Pablo for the spin-off NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
Character creation and casting
Michael Weatherly was cast for the role of Anthony DiNozzo in 2003. Series creator Don Bellisario related the events that led to Weatherly being selected:On another occasion, Bellisario stated, "I can't say enough about Michael Weatherly...He started out on NCIS a character who was just very unlikable to some women because he was just such a chauvinist, and he has gradually over the changed—taken his character and softened it."
Weatherly said that he had initially been reluctant to join a JAG spin-off and explained, "But I went and had this dinner with Don Bellisario in Australia and his personality, his storytelling and his presence and everything kind of won me over." He later commented, "I got very lucky with Don Bellisario. He directed two of the first three episodes, and he really pushed me to try things and experiment and some of the wacky comedy came out of that. And it was kind of unexpected and I didn't really know what I was going to find."
At another point, Weatherly said, "It's kind of fun to play a total dinosaur in terms of sexual politics... The shallow end of the philosophical pool is obviously where Tony paddles around." In the same interview, actress Cote de Pablo added, "There's something deeper about that character. We always talk about the superficial element and the things that make us laugh. But he wouldn't be doing what he does if he wasn't really good at it. He's a complex character, and that's why people love him."
Weatherly directed his own performance of the character in the 2011 episode "One Last Score" and the 2013 episode "Seek". In 2016, the character was written out of the series due to Weatherly having tired of the grind of production, stating that he felt "like a circle that had gone all the way around and I really felt happy with the resolution of character and my time on the show".
Fictional character background
Anthony DiNozzo is the senior field agent of the fictional Major Case Response Team led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs a former Marine Gunnery sergeant. The team investigates major crimes involving military personnel, often dealing with local law enforcement officers. A former police detective, he is characterized as an outgoing, joking, charismatic former jock and frequent lothario. His charisma helps him do undercover work and to deal with intra-agency conflicts. He often leads the team's crime scene investigations. Over the course of the series, he carries a few storylines, including an undercover assignment that goes through seasons four and five to catch an international arms dealer. DiNozzo provided some comic relief for an otherwise serious drama, regularly spouting movie trivia, especially in the early seasons, and as a Casanova, his dating provided many roguish experiences. The death of agent Caitlin Todd and DiNozzo's relationship with agent Ziva David become fundamental to his subtle shift in attitude and character development.Fictional work history
At the end of his run with the Baltimore Police Department's homicide division, he was hired by NCIS in 2001 after discovering that his partner, Danny Price, was a dirty cop.During his tenure as a NCIS special agent, Tony operated as a supervisory special agent and undertook a long-term undercover operation throughout season four. In season two, he nearly dies from a bout with the pneumonic plague after a woman sends a letter filled with genetically altered Yersinia pestis to NCIS for revenge for what she believed to be neglect of a cold case. Tony ably leads the team in Gibbs's absence when the latter retires to Mexico after recovering from a coma. When Gibbs returns to lead the team, Tony declines an offer to lead his own team and resumes his former position to support Gibbs. At the end of season five, Tony is assigned as a Special Agent Afloat to the USS Ronald Reagan and later to the USS Seahawk. At the beginning of season six, he is reassigned to his original team at NCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C.
In the season 8 finale, Clayton Jarvis, the new Secretary of the Navy, tells Director Vance that he wants to include DiNozzo in NCIS's black operations program after the death of Lt. Jonas Cobb and the resignation of Jarvis's predecessor, Philip Davenport. Although Vance seems reluctant, Jarvis overrules him and gives DiNozzo his first assignment; stop an NCIS agent who is leaking information, who in the season nine premiere "Nature of the Beast" is purported to be the NCIS Special Agent Simon Cade. At the end of the episode, DiNozzo is shot by an impostor FBI agent who had killed Cade and attempted to frame DiNozzo for the murder.
Characterization
Tony is written as a streetwise promiscuous former homicide detective. His behavior toward women is occasionally noted by other characters to be chauvinistic, and throughout the series Tony is shown flirting with most women he encounters. He does not respect personal boundaries, going so far as to rifle through his colleagues' possessions, both at work and in their homes, and to listen to private phone calls. In the episode "SWAK", Caitlin Todd described him as an "X-rated Peter Pan" who is "annoying" but whose absence is nevertheless keenly felt. The targets of this behavior are either victims of Tony's quests for new sources of amusement, or those for whom he believes he has reason to be concerned. Michael Weatherly commented on Tony's characterization: "Part of the dynamic of the show is that Tony irritates people, but when he's not around, they kind of miss him."Although Tony is in his thirties when introduced, he is typically written as possessing a juvenile sense of humor that manifests itself in name-calling, teasing, and pranks directed at his colleagues. He delights in quoting movies in everyday life, often mimicking the original actor when quoting them;
In a nod to NCIS creator Donald P. Bellisario, Tony has also been established as a fan of Bellisario television series Magnum, P.I. and Airwolf. In the episode "Dead Man Talking", Tony introduces himself to a suspect as Airwolf character "Stringfellow".
Although his immature behavior often gets Tony into trouble, on more than one occasion he surprises his colleagues when an outwardly immature action on his part causes new evidence to be uncovered. McGee has described Tony's interrogation style as "Dirty Harry meets Keystone Cop". He is generally written as a highly capable agent, and in season four is offered a prized position as a supervisory/senior special agent in charge in Rota, Spain, which he turns down. By season ten, he is the only one out of Gibbs's field team who has been allowed to head an investigation. As Gibbs's senior field agent, he often pulls rank by ordering junior agents around and playing pranks on them. He most notably calls McGee "Probie" until Ziva is made a full-fledged agent. With the addition Ellie Bishop, Tony and McGee begin calling her "Probie" and similarly order her around, claiming that "it's part of the job".
The character is initially portrayed as a "technophobe" who, like his superior, has limited patience with the scientific method and technical terms. However, he develops an aptitude for technology in later episodes, and has been depicted hacking into computer systems.
Relationships
Women
During the run of NCIS, Tony consistently speaks at great length about women. He pursues women on a regular basis, typically indiscriminately. Most of these relationships fail to progress past a certain point and have occasionally ended with humorously disastrous results. He has admitted to having commitment issues. The show's writers made reference to one of Weatherly's real-life relationships in the episode "Hiatus " when he states, "I've got a better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba..." His real-life relationship with Alba occurred while both were performing on the television series Dark Angel.Abby Sciuto
Tony has a friendly platonic relationship with Abby Sciuto. Abby describes this as progressive: "You're like a piercing, Tony. Takes a while for the throbbing to stop and the skin to grow back". The strength of their friendship was demonstrated when she helped clear his name after her assistant framed him for murder, or when he is seemingly killed in an explosion, or when he returns from his time as an agent afloat. Abby once states, "I love you, and would hate to see you hurt". She sometimes becomes upset with him, but these feelings are often resolved quickly.Dr. Jeanne Benoit
In season four, Tony's new girlfriend, Dr. Jeanne Benoit, is introduced and appears as a recurring figure and subplot throughout the season. Tony initially wants to "take it slow" out of fear of their relationship becoming like his earlier ones. They subsequently consummate their relationship in the episode "Smoked" and Tony takes inspiration from movies to make their relationship special. Despite good intentions, Tony is unable to tell Jeanne that he loves her, until the death of a fellow agent convinces him to do so.In the episode "Angel of Death", it is revealed that Jeanne's father is a wanted arms dealer. In the episode "Bury Your Dead", it is revealed that Tony is using Jeanne to infiltrate an arms smuggling network. Jeanne leaves Tony a greeting card in her apartment, as she leaves the Washington, D.C. area.
In the episode "Family", Tony is shown struggling with how his relationship with Jeanne ended, with flashbacks of their relationship. Ziva tries to console Tony, but he rejects her attempts, insisting that he is fine. Contemplating whether he should leave NCIS to be with Jeanne, he rejoins the team. Jeanne reappears in the episode "Internal Affairs", when she accuses Tony of murdering her father. At the end of the episode, Tony apologizes for letting her get involved in something that was not her fault. Asked if their relationship was real, Tony answers "No". Jeanne then tells him she wishes she had never met him. In the episode "Saviors", Jeanne and Tony are shown to be on amicable terms. Later, in "Loose Cannons" Tony encounters Jeanne and her husband while investigating a case, where she worries about it being connected with her father. This proves to be correct, and they both struggle emotionally with the conflict that ended their relationship.