Actors Michael Weatherly & Cote de Pablo talk to The Inside Reel about legacy, instinct, humor and the evolution of their characters in regards to their limited series: “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” on Paramount+.
00:33Thank you very much for bringing these two characters back together.
00:37It makes...
00:38It does so much.
00:39But it seems very organic.
00:41You know, is it just because they have a new perspective on life?
00:45How do you...
00:46How did you have to look at them specifically?
00:49We only eat organic now.
00:50So that's...
00:52We go to the organic market.
00:54Tony and Ziva, the organic one.
00:56What was the question?
00:59No, I guess...
01:01I think the organic feel of it comes because I think Michael and I always kept in touch.
01:08And, you know, for many years, maybe I didn't see him for a couple of years.
01:12I feel like I didn't see you for a couple of years while you were doing Bull and I was maybe...
01:16You were very busy and...
01:17And the pandemic.
01:19And the pandemic and...
01:20Another state.
01:21But we'd have these very long conversations during the pandemic in which we'd talk about everything, right?
01:27Everything.
01:27And then one of the things we always talked about was, do you think this show will ever get made?
01:32And I think all of those conversations sort of pushed that energy and then all of a sudden, you know, the manifestation became a reality.
01:43Good morning.
01:44I give to you the DeNozzo scramble.
01:47You're such a boomer.
01:49Gen X.
01:50The Forgotten Generation.
01:51What's Gen X?
01:54And the joke writes itself.
01:57Are you two getting back together?
02:01No.
02:01No.
02:02Sir, what's the deal with you two?
02:08No deal.
02:09We used to chase bad guys together.
02:11Now we share this incredible child and that's it.
02:13We like to make up our own rules.
02:15We keep it professional.
02:18We're good at professional.
02:24And also, it lined up really well.
02:27You know, timing is everything, Tim, in life, as you're well aware.
02:30And the longer you stick around this, you know, this chunk of rock hurtling through a void, you see that timing is this thing.
02:40You can't force a thing.
02:42Your heart, you can't force love.
02:44You can't force, and...
02:46Well...
02:48All right.
02:49All right.
02:49All right, Miss Love comes later.
02:51No.
02:52All right.
02:53God, why?
02:53You deal with your sense of...
02:56No, I think a lot of people would have a little bit of a different opinion there.
02:59But you're...
03:00I'm just saying it's organic.
03:03I absolutely...
03:04The heart is an organ.
03:05The heart is an organ.
03:06But the Paramount Plus didn't exist when we first started talking about this.
03:12The only room without camera.
03:27Wild guess.
03:28You're not really a lieutenant.
03:30Equally wild guess.
03:32You were not totally convinced by my rules.
03:36And you borrowed a weapon from a lobby guard.
03:39Please give it to me.
03:40Slowly.
03:52I don't think I will need to use it.
04:05I have no desire to harm a child.
04:08But if I must, no objection.
04:14The idea of this show living on a streaming platform and being so international and soaking in all these different actors that are extraordinary and settings and stories.
04:28And, you know, it's not just like, oh, they get to swear.
04:32It's they get to feel more authentic in an authentic world.
04:39Whereas NCIS, we felt it was real and everything that we did was completely...
04:43But we didn't have the time.
04:45And I think the time is the luxury of having your own show that really dedicates time to exploring their relationship.
04:58Tell me, please, why should I be helping you?
05:02Because whoever hired you is trying to frame us.
05:07That doesn't answer my question.
05:08I know.
05:09How does that feel?
05:10Do you know what I should be doing right now?
05:13Getting my daughter ready for school.
05:15Drinking my cappuccino.
05:16But instead, I'm here, in this house, drinking your shit coffee, trying to get some very simple answers.
05:24But I feel like I'm pulling teeth, which, by the way, I'm not above.
05:27It is beautiful.
05:30And none of my problem.
05:33I've told you everything I know.
05:34I was hired by the mean lady.
05:36I traced the account that paid me.
05:37It led nowhere.
05:38I did my job.
05:38Others did theirs.
05:39That's it.
05:41Well, answer me this, smart guy.
05:43What's with the name?
05:449.4, really?
05:46It's the version number.
05:48Lame.
05:49I know.
05:49I wanted to call it something cool, like mosaic.
05:52People just don't put elbow grease in the names anymore.
05:55If Ian Fleming were working today, Thunderball would be called Stolen Missile.
05:59The man with the golden gun would be, well, the man with the golden gun.
06:03Don't even please.
06:05But you also do some, like, when you're doing just procedural and you have to have mythology,
06:10sometimes it's hard to have those quiet moments.
06:13Like, there's a moment in this when you two are in bed.
06:15I won't give it too much away.
06:17But there's, it's a great moment.
06:20And also, when you come to the room at one point, Kode, you know, in terms of, you know,
06:25he's like, give me space.
06:27There's these great little character moments along with the action.
06:31Can you talk about finding that balance of energy, if you will, in something like this?
06:37That is beautiful that you bring that up.
06:39Because that is the very thing that I think Michael and I really wanted to explore within
06:43these characters.
06:45We wanted to explore the relationship.
06:46And as you know, relationship is not just some overall color.
06:51Like, there are nuances.
06:53And within those moments that you are talking about, you really get to see a lot more of
07:02who these people are, you know.
07:04And throughout the season, you will see this incredible vulnerability come from these characters,
07:10which you never saw, really, in the mothership.
07:13And it's not that it wasn't there.
07:15It's just that you really didn't have enough time to explore the relationship.
07:19And we really wanted that.
07:20We wanted to explore the relationship.
07:22Tony, 150 million euros was just wired into your bank.
07:26What?
07:27Classic hacker trick, hey.
07:29I'm Interpol.
07:30Oh, boy.
07:31Yeah.
07:32Someone is trying to frame us for a cyber attack.
07:36We have to stop them before they hurt more people.
07:38I want to stay with you.
07:40It's too dangerous.
07:42We're fugitives from Interpol.
07:43Until our names are clear.
07:47Like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde with better snacks.
07:52When you said you wanted to play a little getaway, I have to admit, this is not what I imagined.
08:01You're still as good a shot as he used to be.
08:04Better.
08:04You?
08:08I'm Magnum P.I.
08:09Born like Grouch Amar.
08:10And Michael and I don't really talk about those moments.
08:14No.
08:14So there's a director.
08:16Obviously, they come in and they have an idea of what that should be like and look like and all of that.
08:21And then Michael and I go into the situation and we do our part.
08:25Yes.
08:26But you also, there's so much the humor that what made these characters so iconic is still there.
08:33So it's still peppering in all that with it, you know, because you have to have stakes at one moment.
08:40But then, you know, Michael, you can actually say one of those zingers and just have Cody just look across and go, man, you know, there's that timing.
08:49Has that timing now just become like instinct?
08:52Well, for me, one of the beautiful, and I haven't said this to anybody yet.
08:57So, Tim, here you go.
08:59Wow.
09:00Wow.
09:00I'm getting ready.
09:01So the humor that DeNozzo had on the mothership for 13 years, but particularly during the sort of Teva years, was kind of audacious or, you know, a little spicy or maybe surreal or absurd.
09:21A lot of pop culture, Tarantino-esque references and things like that.
09:25But now it's dad humor.
09:26You and Tali.
09:29Couldn't be better.
09:30Your language school.
09:32Booming.
09:33Panic attacks.
09:35I haven't had to box breathe in six months.
09:40Tell me.
09:42Not bad.
09:44He is a wonderful father, partly because he is a child.
09:47This is embarrassing. We're in public.
09:50You love this game.
09:51When I was nine, not anymore.
09:53You're going to love this until you're 12,000 years old.
09:55Okay?
09:57And I'll still be here.
09:59So.
10:03What movie character am I?
10:07You got this.
10:07Dad.
10:12Madeline.
10:12A child.
10:14What do you mean by that?
10:16Self-centered.
10:17Big hearted.
10:19A lot of the time, just oblivious.
10:21Like, he's a dad.
10:23And I really love that his jokes kind of fall flat a little bit.
10:29They're not as kind of punchy and everything.
10:31And it's his daughter who's kind of the crack up.
10:35Like, she's actually funnier because she's so dry and she's this combination of the two of them.
10:41And that was kind of a relief to me to not have to fill every moment with a sort of a goofy, finger gunning, you know, jokester.
10:50And to be fair, that's kind of what we also wanted.
10:55You know, we've never really been interested in playing the hero.
10:59Of course, they're really good at what they do.
11:01But they're flawed, you know.
11:03And they have their struggles and they have their demons and they're actively trying to work through things to somehow be better so they could be the best for their child.
11:16But also, within that search, find each other.
11:20And I think we do that.
11:23I think there are moments that are really tender and beautiful where you could really see what these people truly are.
11:32Cops.
11:33Assassins.
11:36Killer cars.
11:39Not quite the happily ever after I was hoping for.
11:47Happily ever after is a fairy tale.
11:50It's more of a cross between techno-thriller and a romantic comedy.
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