Weatherly On His 'NCIS' Future: I Want To Be 'Hot Lips' Hoolihan

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Weatherly On His 'NCIS' Future: I Want To Be 'Hot Lips' Hoolihan

by Matt Webb Mitovich
May 6th, 2010 | 8:48 AM |

Michael Weatherly continues to be "very optimistic" that he will sign a new deal with CBS' 'NCIS' - and doesn't take for granted for a second his status with TV's most-watched drama series.

When Fancast posited that the occasional Jimmy-centric episode and the increased presence of Rena Sofer's M. Allison Hart could be the 'NCIS' brass' way of saying, "Don't get too cocky at the negotiating table, because we have other chess pieces to play with," Weatherly had to agree: "Absolutely, and I think they should feel that way."

To illustrate the point, Weatherly said, "My dad went to Princeton with a guy named Wayne Rogers - Trapper John on 'M*A*S*H.' I don't know what happened there, but suddenly there was B.J. Hunnicutt. And there was Frank Burns, then all of a sudden there was Charles Winchester III. There was McClean Stevenson, then all of a sudden there was Harry Morgan. But you know what, there was always Radar."

So… the dashing and dynamic Tony DiNozzo is meek, bespectacled Radar?

"I'd like to be Radar. I know I'm not Hawkeye, and I don't want to be Trapper," Weatherly replied. "Maybe I'm Klinger? But I don't think I'm looking for a Section 8.... You know who I am? Hot Lips Hoolihan."

Entertain that thought for a second, 'NCIS' fans.

Weatherly said that if he and the show do strike a deal, he may not immediately get wind of it since his attorney who handles such matters just became a first-time dad.

"But the good news is that now that he's had a baby, he'll know how to deal with me better," Weatherly says with a wink. "That's all actors are - a bunch of crying babies."

David McCallum earlier this week extended his 'NCIS' run beyond the current season, while Weatherly, Sean Murray and Pauley Perrette still are in talks to return in the fall.

Coming next week: Our full Q&A with Michael Weatherly, in which he clears something up about Tony and Ziva's Paris sleeping arrangements and teases the bejesus out of the season finale.

source: http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2010/tv-news/weatherly-on-his-ncis-future-i-want-to-be-hot-lips-hoolihan/