Michael Weatherly has been back in NCIS fans’ minds recently after rumours began to circulate that his character Tony DiNozzo would return to be reunited with Ziva David (played by Cote de Pablo). Fans’ interest in the actor led to a 2012 interview re-emerging in which he spilled some backstage trivia on the CBS series. The actor also revealed some of the practical jokes he did while on the show.
While being interviewed in 2010 during his time on the show, Weatherly revealed he had a habit of dropping his trousers during scenes.
He told interviewer Rachael Ray: “Sometimes if you’re blocking a scene and it’s not working, I’ll say, ‘I’ve got an idea.’
“And then I’ll run around the back of the set and come back with no [trousers] on, thinking that would somehow make the scene better.”
He later added: “Sometimes the easiest laugh, when you’re me, is to take your [trousers] off.”
READ MORE: NCIS season 17 spoilers: What really happened between Ziva and Tony?
Last week, a CheatSheet article found an NCIS roundtable interview featuring both Weatherly and Pauley Perrette, who plays Abby Sciuto on the series which reveals another filming secret..
In discussing the series, the actor revealed he sometimes had problems remembering his lines.
However, he told the panel that he was found an ingenious way of tackling his.
He said: “If I’m picking my fingernails, it’s probably because I have my lines written down on my hand.”
READ MORE: NCIS season 17 spoilers: Is Ari involved in Ziva’s return?
According to Cheat Sheet, the roundtable convenor Lana Spencer responded in shock, saying: “Are you telling the truth?
“Because these are your fans. Are you telling the truth? Do you really sneak lines in places?”
Weatherly’s line-reading technique was confirmed by Perrette, who said: “Every actor does [it].”
He then revealed that he had thought he was one of the only actors to do it until he saw an acting legend doing the same thing in a classic film.
READ MORE: NCIS season 17: Does Tony know Ziva is alive and will he return?
He said: “There’s a part in To Catch a Thief that I told Mark [Harmon] about a couple of years ago.
“I’m watching this Cary Grant movie with my wife and all of a sudden Grant stutters a line and he looks in his glove compartment in the car.
“And I am like, ‘He has got his lines written down! And I watch as he reads the lines and finishes.
“And I am like, ‘thank you.’ [That provided] some confirmation.”
NCIS season 17 starts September 24 on CBS