Anthony D. "Tony" DiNozzo, Jr.[4] /dɪˈnoʊzoʊ/ is a fictional character from the CBS TV series NCIS portrayed by American actor Michael Weatherly.

[9] In the show, DiNozzo leaves after learning that he has a daughter with his former partner Special Agent Ziva David, who apparently died in a mortar attack on her home in Israel.

Weatherly returned to made a cameo appearance as DiNozzo at the end of the season 21 episode "The Stories We Leave Behind", paying tribute to Ducky Mallard (David McCallum).

"[6] Weatherly said that he had initially been reluctant to join a JAG spin-off and explained, "But I went and had this dinner with Don Bellisario in Australia and his personality, his storytelling and his presence and everything kind of won me over.

[18] Anthony DiNozzo is the senior field agent of the fictional Major Case Response Team (MCRT) led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) a former Marine Gunnery sergeant.

The team investigates major crimes involving military personnel, often dealing with local law enforcement officers (LEOs).

He often leads the team's crime scene investigations, where medical examiner Donald "Ducky" Mallard would put him through physical exertion for evidence retrieval.

In "Broken Arrow", DiNozzo Sr. helps Gibbs with a case by using his contacts and going undercover with Ziva at a party in the home of a well-known arms dealer.

Other family members mentioned in NCIS episodes include a button-collecting grandfather who bequeathed Tony one thousand shares in a dot-com,[27] and a number of uncles.

He later completed a Bachelor of Arts in physical education at Ohio State University, [30] where he was on the varsity basketball team and competed in the Final Four.

In the episodes "Bikini Wax" and "Trojan Horse", he mentions he is in the Ohio State Alpha Chi Delta fraternity, class of 1989.

At the end of his run with the Baltimore Police Department's homicide division, [32][33] he was hired by NCIS in 2001 after discovering that his partner, Danny Price, was a dirty cop.

In season two, he nearly dies from a bout with the pneumonic plague after a woman sends a letter filled with genetically altered Yersinia pestis to NCIS for revenge for what she believed to be neglect of a cold case.

He does not respect personal boundaries, going so far as to rifle through his colleagues' possessions, both at work and in their homes, and to listen to private phone calls.

"[41] Although Tony is in his thirties when introduced,[42] he is typically written as possessing a juvenile sense of humor that manifests itself in name-calling, teasing, and pranks directed at his colleagues.

With the addition Ellie Bishop, Tony and McGee begin calling her "Probie" and similarly order her around, claiming that "it's part of the job".

[40] The show's writers make reference to one of Weatherly's real-life relationships in the episode "Hiatus (Part 1)" when he states, "I've got a better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba...".

The strength of their friendship was demonstrated when she helped clear his name after her assistant framed him for murder, or when he is seemingly killed in an explosion, or when he returns from his time as an agent afloat.

[citation needed] Despite good intentions, Tony is unable to tell Jeanne that he loves her,[53] until the death of a fellow agent convinces him to do so.

In a conversation with Tara Kole,[55] Tony admits that, since his relationship with Jeanne ended, he has not been enjoying his normal level of success with women, despite his continued bravado to his co-workers.

Tony buys flowers as a peace offering after annoying her in the episode "Vanished" and shows concern for her in "Left For Dead" and "Bête Noire", when she is held hostage by Ari.

In the episode "SWAK", after Kate is found uninfected, she continues to stay with Tony, lying about her condition to him even though she knows that the risk of infection is still imminent.

As shown in the episodes "Kill Ari 1 & 2", the team struggles to deal with the shooting, culminating in a scene in which Tony and McGee mourn over the dead body of their deceased colleague in Ducky's autopsy room.

Typical to Tony's chauvinistic personality, Kate appears in the Catholic schoolgirl uniform that he had been asking about in the episode "Bikini Wax".

[61] In the season ten episode, "You Better Watch Out", Tony is shown to have a goldfish named Kate, whom he teases like his former partner (telling the fish she's "getting fat"), despite clearly doting on it.

Although their relationship was not explicit until the beginning of season 11 when David left the show, the close bond between the two ultimately resulted in their daughter, Tali.

emerges from hiding in the episode "Housekeeping" and discusses events with Tony at a safe house while he is furious with her for her abrupt disappearance, but they go their separate ways after the killer is apprehended, with E.J.

[75] His flirtation with Ziva received significant media coverage over the years, with the characters being referred to as a "power couple" by Entertainment Weekly.

[82] In 2011, one critic from Slate called him a "womanizing doofus given to spouting movie trivia" but added that all the characters on the MCRT team (Tony, Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee) "are men and women of honor, heroes who have all made significant sacrifices for their country".

[7] Catherine Lawson from The Huffington Post reported in August 2011 that Michael Weatherly was voted as number seven in the list of the top 10 most popular primetime TV stars.