Brad Barket/CBSMichael Weatherly left NCIS after 13 seasons in May, but it wasn't because he was sick and tired of the show on which he starred for more than a decade. It was really just because he needed a change.
"It's not relief [to be done with NCIS] but it is an amazing change and discovery. Not only because that was an extraordinary, unique ride—13 years, it really felt like a circle that had gone all the way around and I really felt happy with the resolution of the character and my time on the show," he told reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour panel for his new CBS series, Bull. "I wasn't burnt out by NCIS and I was ready for a new challenge. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest," he added.
After deciding to leave NCIS, Weatherly signed on to star in CBS' new legal drama Bull, loosely based on Dr. Phil McGraw's time running a successful jury consulting business. "Bull is a big show with a lot of characters, it's complex, it's a different part of my—I solve problems the same way as an actor but it really requires a lot different muscles," Weatherly explained. "I wake up every morning and I pinch myself that I have this opportunity and I'm deeply grateful and humbled by it. The big trick for me is I'm in New York City and my family is in Los Angeles still, and my son every morning on FaceTime asks 'When are you coming home?'"
McGraw joked that when he was searching for an actor to play a character based on a younger version of himself, he naturally thought of the super-handsome Weatherly. "Obviously, we're really kind of twinkies as far as looks are concerned, he immediately came straight to mind," McGraw joked. In all seriousness, "when I first met Michael and we first started talking about it, I always find people are either psychologically minded or they're not...and he so got it so quick."
Weatherly said McGraw helped him shape the character. "Phil is a pretty funny guy because he's incredibly smart and he understands human behavior so for me the conversations were really quick, getting right to the heart of, 'Let's find out why Bull is interested in human behavior, let's find out what are the real gears and mechanisms inside that guy.' While this isn't a biographical show, Phil is an inspiration for a very complex and super intelligent guy who understands how simple people can be but how tricky it is to find that elegant simplicity."
There are definitely similarities between Bull and the character he played for 13 years, though. "The DiNozzo that is in him is that he has a twinkle in his eye. He appreciates human behavior. People are fascinating," Weatherly told a small group of reporters after the panel.
"But what it really comes down to is DiNozzo required this framework where there was somebody above him. He needed Gibbs to sort of sit on him and hold him down and mentor him. And he needed that approval and validation and that inclusion, he needed that family. Bull has this team and they have a family dynamic and he's a leader inside it. ...Unlike Gibbs, I'm not coming at it from a place of ruling by fear or intimidation. I rule with a more inclusive, Kumbaya, up with the people."
Bull premieres Sept. 20 on CBS.