Michael Weatherly: From very special agent to trial consultant in BULL
Michael Weatherly of NCIS
plays Dr.Phil-inspired character in new series
When Michael Weatherly left NCIS after thirteen
years, I was heartbroken. His zany, sarcastic and sometimes sexy attitude is
one of the reason why I love watching NCIS. He will surely be missed as very
special agent Anthony Dinozzo. But the good news is that he have another show. He
may have said goodbye to his role as Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo on NCIS, but his new role does not take him
far from the twists and turns of the justice system.
Michael Weatherly is taking the lead in the brand
new show BULL.
“I’m gonna miss his repressive sense of humor, what
I won’t miss is wearing that gun, that was uncomfortable,” Weatherly said about
his NCIS character during an
interview.
BULL takes inspiration from the early career of Dr. Phil
McGraw, co-founder of top trial consulting firm Courtroom Sciences, Inc. (CSI),
which has provided trial consulting services for Fortune 500 companies as well
as talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
“It’s been amazing to play a character who is all
about human connection, he’s about finding out why we do the things we do, but
he’s also about getting to the truth of something,” Weatherly said in another
interview.
Courtroom drama
In this new series,
Weatherly shifts from law enforcement to trial analytics. His character, trial
consultant Dr. Jason Bull, does everything to get the justice his clients
deserve.
“What’s fascinating about the whole world of trial
analytics and the sciences of it is that they’re looking at things that you
don’t think about,” Weatherly said.
“He (Dr. Bull) looks at a
jury trial and looks at the identities of everybody involved from the judge to
the attorneys, to the jury, and the witness and defendant, and he figures out
what everyone’s thinking,” he added.
The doctor is perfectly aware that the 12 ordinary
people making up a jury have the power to decide a person’s fate at court. He
also knows that these jurors possess a preconceived notion of the truth. That’s
why the key to winning a trial is by winning over the jury.
Behind the scenes
Dr. Bull further understands that even the tiniest
details such as relationship status, clothes, and hairstyle can turn the court
against the defendant. To avoid an unfavorable outcome, he works with a team of
experts to make sure that his clients are on their best behavior and will say
the right things at the witness stand.
His staff includes a lawyer who acts as defense
attorney in mock trials, a neurolinguistics expert who used to be a part of the
Department of Homeland Security, a former detective from the New York Police
Department, a haughty millennial hacker, and a fashion stylist.
“What this show really looks at are the choices that
we make, and who we think we are versus how other people think we are, and it
starts to get to a hall of mirrors. It takes very complex people to figure out
complex people,” Weatherly said.
BULL also stars Freddy Rodriguez (Ugly Betty, Six Feet Under),
Geneva Carr (Rescue Me, Law and Order: Criminal Intent),
Annabelle Attanasio (The Knick, House M.D.), Chris Jackson (Oz), and Jaime Lee Kirchner (The Mob Doctor, Mercy) along with Weatherly.
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