Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette discuss Cote de Pablo, NCIS season 11
November 3, 2013
The CBS International Press junket continued on November 2, and this time NCIS actors Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette were at the table to chat about their show's new season.
Read Mark Harmon's comments to the press about NCIS without Cote de Pablo.
Weatherly, who plays Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, was up first, and the TV veteran kept the mood light with his usual banter. After joking about having champagne in his drinking cup, he quipped about the birth of his newborn son, Liam.
"When babies arrive on Earth, they look like they've just done 15 rounds with Mike Tyson." - Michael Weatherly
Liam is the second child for Weatherly and wife Bojana Jankovic. Liam joins big sister, Olivia, 18 months old, as well as 17 year old half brother, August, from Weatherly's first marriage.
Weatherly has no difficulty keeping the press amused, and when asked if he is ever serious, he replied, "I believe it was Oscar Wilde who said never take life seriously."
Keeping on the theme of children, the actor added that season 11 may be "time for little DiNozzos. We know how that happens, adoption!"
Talking about potential baby DiNozzos led to the subject of co-star Cote de Pablo's recent exit. de Pablo played Ziva David, DiNozzo's partner and love interest. de Pablo's character Ziva was written out of the show in this season's second episode, 'Past, Present, Future' when contract negotiations between the actress and network stalled over the summer.
Recalling when de Pablo joined the cast, Weatherly joked, "I remember season 3 like it was eight years ago!"
Weatherly did take a few moments to be serious when he addressed de Pablo's departure during the press conference. As the actor/director said in a recent pre-taped edition of CBS's The Talk, Weatherly reiterated that it was emotional filming those last scenes with de Pablo.
Michael Weathery gets emotional about Cote de Pablo's departure on The Talk
When pressed for the reasons de Pablo left the show, Weatherly demurred, saying only, "Cote left to figure out her own life."
Half way through Weatherly's segment, Pauley Perrette came out and the two actors shared a hug. Perrette, who plays forensic scientist Abby Scuito, was quick to assure the media that she's not going anywhere.
"Are you kidding? I'm Abby's biggest fan!" - Pauley Perrette
Perrette had her own time with the press when Weatherly finished up, and like her fellow cast members found Cote de Pablo's departure to be "shocking'. But the actor continued, looking at the positive way the character was written out of the show. "At least Ziva's alive in Israel and not dead!"
Perrette is known for her activism, and as journalists tweeted out photos and comments, she told the group that she was initially "anti-social media." She came around when she realized Twitter's usefulness to help promote the causes and charities she in which she is involved.
Regarding her character Abby, Perrette claims she was inspired by her "very focused and alert rescue dog, Cece." And she also explained the major difference between her and her TV alter ego. "I look more like a scruffy 17 year old boy."
I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that last point, Pauley.
Sources: Margaret Gardiner, Jenny Cooney, Alex Strachan, Bill Brioux, Natalia Romero, as well asThe Star and Hollywood Newswire. Follow these folks on Twitter for more international media coverage.
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