The Curious Case of Michael Weatherly (Anthony DiNozzo)

Since my early days of fandom, I had always seen celebrities as completely detached from real life, almost to the point of being un-human. I assumed they breathed, but I've never seen it close up. I knew they laughed and cried, but I only experienced that through a TV or movie screen. I have had celebrity crushes since I was twelve years old, but had only seen a select few in the flesh. After those two short, yet significant experiences, I began longing for other opportunities to connect with my favorite stars. I started writing fan letters again (something I haven't done since I was a teenager). I found their pages on myspace.com and left them comments, hoping they'd answer back. I joined their website communities, chock full of other fans looking to connect with them online.

Recently, someone graciously invented Twitter, my new favorite website. I searched voraciously for every celeb on my wish list, some to no avail. And, the few that I did find had SO many people following already that I thought I'd never have a chance (didn't stop me from hitting that 'follow' button anyway!). Everyone asked me, "How can you tell it's really them? What if it's someone doing the posting for them?" One of my answers to the non-believers out there was Michael Weatherly on Twitter. Obviously, I had no way to prove this, but something about the way he responded to fans' questions and comments (a GUT feeling, perhaps?) convinced me of his true identity. I then noticed the fan site dedicated to him, MikeWeatherly.com, and more importantly, his positive comments about our happy home.

["Some of my fans have set up a fan site over at mikeweatherly.com which is really nice of them. Thank you @NCISfanatic." -Michael Weatherly, on Twitter.com]

I have to believe that this display of affection for his loyal fans would prove to anyone that he IS the real deal. Also, the plug for Twitter on the season finale didn't hurt, either (Don't worry, kids! I didn't ruin anything in case you haven't seen it yet!) Weatherly's admittance with his familiarity to the popular blogsite made many fans stand up and cheer, I'm sure!

Michael's recent acclamation with Twitter is not his only claim to fame in my eyes. One of the aspects of Tony's character that really draws me to him are his pop-culture and movie references. This quirk is so embedded in DiNozzo that the origins of such a hobby had to stem from Michael himself. I recently read his interview in TV guide magazine* where he makes many TV and movie references. Avid fans, especially those who post fanfics, notice the dedication to which Michael plays his charming movie buff. One story that shows our keen awareness of the idiosyncrasies of DiNozzo's character is by an amazing author whose story link is listed here: "Catching Up" Check it out!

As I research about Michael Weatherly's life away from the camera (TV Guide), I definitely see him as someone who takes his craft very seriously, which makes me admire him even more. He seems to allow his real life to sneak into dialogue between he and his fellow 'team members'. In reading his biography, I discovered that Michael had been engaged for a short while to "Dark Angel" star Jessica Alba. A flashback of a particular episode (the title of which escapes me at this moment) popped into my head at this revelation. During an exchange between DiNozzo and McGee, Tony remarked that Tim had a "better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba". Now, out of all the beautiful, well-known actresses in Hollywood at present, the choice was made to reference Ms. Alba. Whether that choice was made by the writers or Michael himself, I don't know. I like to believe that Michael ad libbed his line, wanting to give a shout-out to his former co-star (Yes, Michael also did a stint on "Dark Angel"). He even seems to incorporate his familial relationships in his creation of Tony DiNozzo. I also noticed in Michael's bio that he pursued his dream of acting despite his family's wishes, much like Tony seems to be displaced from his wealthy father. The man's desire to abandon everything and follow his heart adds to the character's layers of intensity.

He also has a strong bond with the female players on his stage. Michael has five sisters and, most likely, forged a protective stance in regards to their welfare. Despite Tony's normally chauvanistic ways, he has a deep regard for the women with whom he works. Anyone watching can tell that he taps into his brotherly emotions during certain encounters with Abby (ex., "Kill Ari"), Kate ("Caught on Tape"), and even Ziva ("Aliyah"). However strongly us shippers crave a sexual or romantic relationship to develop between Tony and any of his female team members, Michael's obvious respect and admiration of women in general shines Tony in a much different light.

If I ever felt as though I have an opportunity to get to know Michael personally, I am being afforded that chance by watching his honest portrayal of Anthony DiNozzo on "NCIS". Michael seems to reach out to his fans in a major way, despite the barrier of the television camera. As enjoyable as this is for me, there is still a small part that wishes for more. That small void is finally filled by access to the technological advances of the internet, and the knowledge that somewhere, tweeting on his phone, is Michael Weatherly, ready and willing to connect with us all. :)

*link from TVguidemagazine is to the extended Michael Weatherly interview. The original interview is in the May 11th-17th issue of TV Guide magazine.

*Michael Weatherly resume and biography information was supplied by IMDb Mini Biography By: [email protected] at www.imdb.com