“I smiled.” That was Tony’s response when Kate asked him back in season 1 how he got into NCIS. Over the 13 seasons that Michael Weatherly has played Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, there have been numerous memorable moments, and each is just one of the many reasons why we’ll miss him so much.
#106 Tony’s Method of Interrogating Commander Lindsey
He starts with a story about his time in Baltimore and a case where a gynecologist paid two guys to kill a stripper before turning to to the transcripts showing Lindsey’s interest in the victim, Singer.
– JAG Season 8 Episode 21 “Meltdown”
#105 When Asked if NCIS is Anything Like CSI, Tony Replies, “Only If You’re Dyslexic”
– Season 1 Episode 1 “Yankee White”
#104 “I smiled.”
Kate: “How did you get into NCIS?”
Tony: “I smiled.”
– Season 1 Episode 2 “Hung Out to Dry”
#103 Tony vs. Iguana
Who wouldn’t like to wake up one morning to an iguana?
– Season 1 Episode 8 “Minimum Security”
#102 Tony Lies Down Between the Victim and the Rising Tide
– Season 1 Episode 11 “Eye Spy”
#101 Tony Goes from Stringfellow to Agent DiNozzo Upon Realizing Amanda is Voss, a.k.a. Pacci’s Killer
However, people in the bar see Amanda as an innocent woman and turn on Tony.
– Season 1 Episode 19 “Dead Man Talking”
#100 Tony Protects the Missing Marine from the Killer and Then Disarms Her
– Season 1 Episode 20 “Missing”
#99 Tony Undercover as Gus Bricker
“Leering by definition isn’t supposed to be subtle.”
– Season 1 Episode 21 “Split Decision”
#98 Tony in the Ring with Gibbs for His Version of Close Combat Training
– Season 2 Episode 5 “The Bone Yard”
#97 Tony and Kate Go Undercover at a Clinic as a Couple Belonging on Jerry Springer
– Season 2 Episode 5 “The Bone Yard”
#96 Tony with Corporal Yost
Tony’s usually the clown, but his interactions with Corporal Yost showed his more serious side.
– Season 2 Episode 7 “Call of Silence”
#95 Tony Goes Undercover in “Chained”
– Season 2 Episode 10
#94 Tony’s the Italian Gigolo Furniture Mover to Ducky’s Mother
– Season 2 Episode 13 “The Meat Puzzle”
#93 Tony’s Gives Iggy Kate’s Sat Phone to Track Him Using Its GPS
– Season 2 Episode 17 “An Eye for an Eye”
#92 Tony Delights in Gibbs Calling Him “My Senior Field Agent”
– Season 2 Episode 20 “Red Cell”
#91 After Opening an Envelope, Tony Gets the Plague
– Season 2 Episode 22 “SWAK”
#90 Tony Discovers a Bomb Under the Car at the Crime Scene and Tells Kate and McGee to Run
He may have just come back to work after the plague, but he knows he’s faster than they are.
– Season 2 Episode 23 “Twilight”
#89 Tony Pretends to Be Part of a Nudist Group to See What’s in the Switched Robes of Ziva and Another Mossad Officer
– Season 3 Episode 2 “Kill Art: Part 2”
#88 Tony Goes Undercover with Ziva as Married Assassins
Season 3 Episode 8 “Under Covers”
#87 Tony Claims Ziva Knows Where What the Assassin Wants Is and Once They’re Gone, Takes Down the Thug Left to Kill Him While Bound to a Chair
“I want a divorce,” he tells Gibbs when the team bursts into the room.
– Season 3 Episode 8 “Under Covers”
#86 Tony Finds Himself on the Other Side of the Interrogation Table
Thanks to evidence planted against him on a pair of legs, he’s the number one suspect in FBI Agent Sacks’ eyes.
– Season 3 Episode 9 “Frame-Up”
#85 Tony Interrogates Himself in a Cell
He’s a “federal prosecutor’s dream,” he says to Gibbs.
– Season 3 Episode 9 “Frame-Up”
#84 Tony Tells McGee About the First Time He Shot at Someone
When McGee says he’s not the rest of them — Tony trained as a cop, Gibbs a sniper, Kate protected the president, Ziva with Mossad — and doubts if he’s cut out to be a field agent, Tony says the first time he shot at someone, he wet his pants.
– Season 3 Episode 10 “Probie”
#83 Tony Keeps Gibbs’ Medals in His Desk
– Season 3 Episode 11 “Model Behavior”
#82 Tony Improvises an Antenna Extension for a Cell Phone Using Ziva’s Necklace and DVD Spines
– Season 3 Episode 12 “Boxed In”
#81 Tony Threatens Teens with Genital Cuffs and Then Leaves the Phone on Speaker to Listen to Their Conversation
That’s how you interrogate teenagers.
– Season 3 Episode 13 “Deception”
#80 Tony is Gibbs’ “Loyal St. Bernard”
– Season 3 Episode 16 “Family Secret”
#79 Tony Takes Lead in the Hostage Situation
When he is told Cody’s mother is dead, he relays that to Gibbs by telling him Agent Todd is on it.
– Season 3 Episode 18 “Bait”
#78 Jenny Offers Tony His Own Team in Rota, But He Turns It Down
– Season 4 Episode 3 “Singled Out”
#77 Tony Talks to the Victim’s Son Who Wants to Join the Marines Instead of Going to College
“I would do whatever it takes, but there is a right time, a right place, and this is not the time, not for you.”
– Season 4 Episode 7 “Sandblast”
#76 Tony Tells Jeanne Why He’s Holding off on Having Sex with Her
“I don’t want to rush things. … If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you always got, and while what I got had its perks, I’m looking for something different now.”
– Season 4 Episode 9 “Twisted Sister”
#75 Tony Goes Undercover at the Airport to Spy on and Tag the Bags of La Grenouille’s People (and Meets Kort)
– Season 4 Episode 10 “Smoked”
#74 Tony Goes Undercover as a Street Performer to Spy on La Grenouille’s People
– Season 4 Episode 11 “Driven”
#73 Tony Brings Dinner to Jeanne at the Hospital in a Scene Out of an Old Movie
– Season 4 Episode 12 “Suspicion”
#72 “I owe you everything. You taught me how to do this job, and I never wanted to lie to you.”
– Tony apologizes to Gibbs about keeping his undercover mission from him
– Season 4 Episode 14 “Blowback”
#71 Tony Discovers a Secret Passage by Blowing Smoke from a Cigar to Find the Gaps in the Wall
– Season 4 Episode 19 “Grace Period”
#70 Tony Tells Jeanne He Loves Her
– Season 4 Episode 19 “Grace Period
#69 “Hey, my car blew up this morning. Did you do that?”
– Tony to Kort, arriving at NCIS post-explosion
– Season 5 Episode 1 “Bury Your Dead”
#68 Jeanne Leaves Tony a Letter She’s Not Coming Back and He Has to Choose; He Chooses the Team
– Season 5 Episode 2 “Family”
#67 “Ba ba black ship, have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes sir, but in order to see it, you’re going to need top secret government clearance.”
– Season 5 Episode 6 “Chimera”
#66 Tony Saves Gibbs and Madison from the Car Underwater
– Season 5 Episode 7 “Requiem”
#65 Tony Punches Kort
“He wasn’t just an operative,” Tony says about La Grenouille. “He was somebody’s father.”
– Season 5 Episode 14 “Internal Affairs”
#64 Tony Tells Jeanne What She Needs to Hear, That None of Their Relationship Was Real
– Season 5 Episode 15 “Internal Affairs”
#63 “I am never alone.”
Because he’s agent afloat, he covers the “illegal activity” he’s doing with talk to “Tim” and “Dad” (a.k.a. Gibbs) regarding McGee driving his car.
– Season 6 Episode 1 “Last Man Standing”
#62 When Gibbs Says to Launch, Tony Echoes the Order
The killer on board may be armed, but Tony has an armed man on there too.
– Season 6 Episode 2 “Agent Afloat”
#61 Tony as Agent Afloat
It’s a chance to show that he’s more than just the clown and he handles it well, but he’s still happy to be reassigned back home.
– Season 6 Episode 2 “Agent Afloat”
#60 Tony’s Delighted When the Case is Connected to Gibbs’ Hometown and He Meets His Father
– Season 6 Episode 4 “Heartland”
#59 Rule 38 Makes Tony Boss Again
– Season 6 Episode 16 “Bounce”
#58 Gibbs Tells Tony He’s Making Him Proud and Has Been Doing a Hell of a Job
– Season 6 Episode 16 “Bounce”
#57 “Sheriff, I think he lost a contact.”
– Tony, when his horse goes in circles
– Season 6 Episode 17 “South by Southwest”
#56 Tony Confronts Michael at Ziva’s and Tries to Arrest Him, But Their Fight Ends with Michael Dead
– Season 6 Episode 24 “Semper Fidelis”
#55 Tony Defends His Actions Regarding Michael to Gibbs, Vance, Eli David and Ziva
– Season 6 Episode 25 “Aliyah”
#54 Tony Plays His Role as the Wild Card in the Rescue of Ziva
Tony does what he does best: talk.
– Season 7 Episode 1 “Truth or Consequences”
#53 Tony Gets His Secret Santa Recipient a Doll She Didn’t Get as a Child
– Season 7 Episode 10 “Faith”
#52 Tony Pays His Father’s Hotel Bill and Buys Him an Airplane Ticket Instead of Going on a Cruise With His Friends
“He’s my father. He is who he is. I couldn’t bust him. Sometimes it’s better to keep what you know to yourself,” he explains to Gibbs.
– Season 7 Episode 12 “Flesh and Blood”
#51 Ducky Tells Tony He Shouldn’t Talk for 24 Hours After Overuse of His Voice
He went around talking to everyone in the neighborhood for the case. And of course, everyone has fun with his predicament.
– Season 8 Episode 5 “Dead Air”
#50 Tony’s Saturday Night Fever Costume for Ethel
– Season 8 Episode 6 “Cracked”
#49 “I’m a good agent, Dr. Cranston. A really good one.”
Rachel: “What do you see when you look at him, Agent DiNozzo?”
Tony: “Man works his whole life, dedicates himself to his job. And then has nothing to show for it.”
Rachel: “How does that make you feel?”
Tony: “Afraid. I’m a good agent, Dr. Cranston. A really good one.”
Rachel: “I know. And so do a lot of other people. … But you could be more. Has anyone ever told you that? … Maybe Agent Todd was hard on you because she knew what you were really capable of. Too bad she never got a chance to tell you that.”
And then Tony realizes Rachel is Kate’s sister following a deleted scene flashback to “An Eye for an Eye” and a flashback to being in quarantine with Kate in “SWAK”
– Season 8 Episode 14 “A Man Walks Into a Bar…”
#48 Tony Meets Gibbs in a Flashback When the Latter’s Undercover
– Season 8 Episode 22 “Baltimore”
#47 “Who’d want to be a Navy cop? I’d rather have the plague.”
– Season 8 Episode 22 “Baltimore”
#46 Tony Walks into Human Resources at NCIS and Smiles
– Season 8 Episode 22 “Baltimore”
#45 “I think I’ll stay put. No sense walking away from a good thing.”
– Tony to EJ, when she says he can have Rota
– Season 8 Episode 24 “Pyramid”
#44 Tony is Selected for a Classified Assignment
– Season 8 Episode 24 “Pyramid”
#43 Tony Uses His Arms to Measure the Outside of a House to Confirm Something’s Off About the Garage and Finds a Hidden Room
– Season 9 Episode 4 “Enemy on the Hill”
#42 Even Though He’s Not Supposed to be Working the Case, Tony Clears His Father’s Name
– Season 9 Episode 10 “Sins of the Father”
#41 Tony Uses Holiday Cookies for a Polygraph in Interrogation
– Season 9 Episode 11 “Newborn King”
#40 Tony’s Reunion with Wendy
– Season 9 Episode 15 “Secrets”
#39 After a Performance Review that He’s Too Talkative, Tony Becomes Quiet, But Gibbs Tells Him He Depends on His “Yabba Yabba”
– Season 9 Episode 19 “The Good Son”
#38 Tony Saved Jason from a Fire Back When He was in Baltimore for the Final 4
But he couldn’t save Jason’s sister.
– Season 9 Episode 21 “Rekindled”
#37 Tony Tells Jason That the Night He Saved Him Put Him on This Career Path
“You can’t save them all. Sometimes, you have to pick one. I picked you. Otherwise, all three of us would have died that night, and you know it. … A lot of things changed that night. I decided to become a cop because of a kid I almost lost in Baltimore but didn’t, and that’s you. For the first time in my life, I made a difference. I did something that mattered. I’ve been trying to do that ever since.”
– Season 9 Episode 21 “Rekindled”
#36 Tony Talks to Ziva About His Mother
“I guess she was the first woman to break my heart, and I don’t like to talk about things like that,” he admits of the woman who took him to the movies on weekend trips into the city. “She loved the escape” of movies.
– Season 10 Episode 6 “Shell Shock: Part I”
#35 Tony Brings the Opera to Ziva
If she closes her eyes, he suggests, maybe it will be like she’s there — and Tali’s with her.
– Season 10 Episode 7 “Shell Shock: Part II”
#34 Tony Kicks Senior Out When He Brings a Neighbor into His Apartment — and Bed
– Season 10 Episode 10 “You Better Watch Out”
#33 Senior Gives Tony the Family Signet Ring and Tony Tells Him He Loves Him
Despite the earlier hiccup with Tony’s house rules, father and son are together to celebrate the holidays.
– Season 10 Episode 10 “You Better Watch Out”
#32 Tony Sees Ziva off to Israel and Tells Her She Isn’t Alone
– Season 10 Episode 12 “Shiva”
#31 Tony Talks to McGee About Fathers: They “Start Off as Heroes” but “End up Disappointing”
– Season 10 Episode 19 “Squall”
#30 Tony Goes to Berlin with Ziva to Track Down Bodnar
– Season 10 Episode 21 “Berlin”
#29 Tony the Car Killer
But it’s not his fault — his car was stolen in one case and blown up in another.
– Season 10 Episode 23 “Double Blind”
#28 Tony Bugs Parsons and Warns Him He’s Messing with the Wrong Agents
He can question how they do things, but don’t question Ziva’s loyalty, he says.
– Season 10 Episode 23 “Double Blind”
#27 Tony Travels to Israel and Doesn’t Tell the Others He Has Found Ziva When She Asks Him Not To
– Season 11 Episode 2 “Past, Present and Future”
#26 Tony Tells Ziva He’s “Fighting” for Her, But Respects Her Wishes and Kisses Her Goodbye
– Season 11 Episode 2 “Past, Present and Future”
#25 Tony Makes up for His Past Failings with Anton in Baltimore in the Present
– Season 11 Episode 5 “Once a Crook”
#24 Tony Has Been Attending a Men’s Support Group
“With the past year, I just wanted to shake some things up,” he explains.
– Season 11 Episode 8 “Alibi”
#23 Tony Offers McGee Advice About Delilah’s Wheelchair
“Just don’t not avoid not making her feel self-conscious about it.”
– Season 11 Episode 15 “Bulletproof”
#22 Tony Knows a Man Isn’t a Commander After a Quick Look
The stripes on his sleeve and visor didn’t match, he didn’t put his cover on when he left the hotel and his shoes aren’t polished.
– Season 11 Episode 16 “Dressed to Kill”
#21 Tony Struggles with His Father’s Relationship with His Mother’s Best Friend
He feels like he’s betraying his mother if he approves, but Gibbs suggests Senior feels the same way and that’s why he wants his approval. And so Tony gives it to him.
– Season 11 Episode 16 “Dressed to Kill”
#20 Tony is Tasked with Bringing Home an Admiral’s Daughter from France
But she’s a spy, not the crazy party girl she seems to be. Tony ends up being framed for murder (again!) and uses Symbolese to get in touch with his team back home.
– Season 11 Episode 23 “The Admiral’s Daughter”
#19 Tony the Plague Whisperer
Because of his own experience with the plague, whenever there’s a related situation, he’s called in. After finding a rat on the ship, he’s ready to be done. “Can I go home now?”
– NCIS: New Orleans Season 1 Episode 2 “Carrier”
#18 Tony Notes an Air Marshal’s Lack of Reaction to a Stupid Joke About His Last Name Being “Beers” as Odd
It turns out the guy is an imposter.
– Season 12 Episode 9 “Grounded”
#17 Tony’s Gift Basket for Expectant Parents Palmer and Breena Includes Ear Plugs, Wine and Cash
– Season 12 Episode 13 “We Build, We Fight”
#16 Tony Interrogates His Former Mentor from the Military Prep School
– Season 12 Episode 14 “Cadence”
#15 When Senior Realizes Tony Thinks He’s a Con Artist, He Explains He’s an Entrepreneur
“The difference between an entrepreneur and a con artist is an entrepreneur believes in the dreams he’s selling. Whether my deals fell through or not, I believed in what I was selling,” Senior tells his son.
– Season 12 Episode 17 “The Artful Dodger”
#14 Tony Forgets About His Trip When He Hears the Op Name Lex Talionis
It’s an op he and Gibbs have been working for years, and the others have to be read in. Tony can tell it bothers McGee that he’s just finding out about it even though that’s the nature of the job.
– Season 12 Episode 19 “Patience”
#13 Though Against Senior Moving into His Building, Tony Comes Around to Him Living Nearby
– Season 12 Episode 20 “No Good Deed”
#12 Tony Chases Down Daniel Budd and Shoots Him
“You’re not a Bond villain, Daniel. You’re a fraud, and frauds don’t get to speechify like Bond villains. They do get to die like them,” he tells him.
– Season 13 Episode 1 “Stop the Bleeding”
#11 Tony Figures Out Who Mitch Is and Suggests to Gibbs That They Turn the Case Over to Another Team
Mitch is the son of the NIS agent who died protecting Shannon and Kelly. Tony knows “if things get sticky … that you’re going to do whatever it takes to protect him.”
– Season 13 Episode 2 “Personal Day”
#10 Tony Tells Jeanne He’d Turn the Clock Back to the End of the South Sudan Mission
That was “a much better ending” for them after the case traces back to her father just after he swore to her it wasn’t about him.
– Season 13 Episode 16 “Loose Cannons”
#9 Tony Sings Strangers in the Night — with Slightly Different Lyrics as the Case Distracts Him
Strangers in the night exchanging glances
Wondering in the night what were the chances
We’d be sharing love before the night was through
I never miss a shot even at high noon
How on Earth did Petty Officer Muldoon
It took him three shots to nail that guy
– Season 13 Episode 17 “After Hours”
#8 Tony takes Ducky, Palmer and Vance with Him to Use the Gift Certificate to the Italian Restaurant Instead of a Girl
– Season 13 Episode 18 “Scope”
#7 Tony Admits to McGee That He’s Worried He’s Lost His Edge
Tony: “Feel like my life is a charade. … You’d tell me, right, if I was losing my edge? The DiNozzo edge? ‘Cause I feel like it. I mean, I get swindled by a bimbo. I got Laurel and Hardy impersonating me. What about the third guy? Is he a buffoon? Is that who I am?”
McGee: “You haven’t lost your edge. You momentarily misplaced it, okay? You’re getting it back.”
Tony: “Did a lot of thinking in the big house. … Time passed real slow. Honestly, sometimes, I feel like I don’t know who I am. And it’s strange, because she stole my identity, right? But I feel like I’ve already lost my identity. I mean, what is this? Seriously, is this some kind of weird metaphor for my current psychological state?”
McGee: “Look, I don’t understand half of what you’re talking about right now, okay? And we don’t have time for an existential crisis. Listen to me. You are Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. You survived the pneumonic plague. You saved Gibbs from drowning. But you know what? More than anything, you’re one of my best friends.”
– Season 13 Episode 20 “Charade”
#6 Tony Can Afford His Apartment Because It Was the Site of a Triple Homicide
– Season 13 Episode 21 “Return to Sender”
#5 Tony Finds Out Ziva’s Dead — and He Now is a Single Parent to Their Daughter, Tali
– Season 13 Episode 24 “Family First”
#4 Tony Leaves NCIS Because He Knows He’s Everything to Tali and is Now Responsible for Her
– Season 13 Episode 24 “Family First”
#3 Tony Says Goodbye to Gibbs
Tony: “I’d say thank you, but it doesn’t quite cover it, Boss.”
Gibbs: “You take care of yourself and your family.”
– Season 13 Episode 24 “Family First”
#2 Tony Says Goodbye to Abby
Abby: “I’m really gonna miss you, Anthony DiNozzo.”
Tony: “Not half as much as I’m gonna miss you, Abby Sciuto.”
– Season 13 Episode 24 “Family First”
#1 Tony Says Goodbye to Ducky, Palmer, McGee and Bishop
And he passes along the “Very Special Agent” torch to McGee.
– Season 13 Episode 24 “Family First”
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.
