Michael Weatherly is one of the most recognizable stars that we have on TV today, so it's no surprise that people would want to talk to him when they see him out and about. Well, he got lunch from one fan, but not for the reason you'd think. It turns out that this fan, was actually a fan of someone else. Here's what Weatherly had to say:
Sean Patrick Flanery in Planet Hollywood, Vancouver, 1998. And they were like, 'What are you having?' I'm like, hamburger, bottle of wine, french fries, calamari, maybe salad and, can I have a friend come? 'Cause I had a feeling it was going to be free, and you know what? Thank you, Sean Patrick Flanery. Free lunch.
Now, it's not unusual for TV stars, or actors in general, to be mistaken for other TV stars/actors when they're going about their business in their daily lives. And, in this case, it sounds like it this encounter was just long enough ago that Michael Weatherly's name and face weren't yet synonymous with his NCIS character Anthony DiNozzo, seeing as how he didn't begin that long-running role until 2003. In fact, since this happened two years before Weatherly had his first major starring role on a television show (that would be on FOX's Dark Angel, which began in 2000), we can probably safely assume that he wasn't exactly recognizable as himself yet. He may even have still been in the starving actor phase of his career, and that explains why he took advantage of one of Sean Patrick Flanery's very generous fans at that Planet Hollywood in Vancouver.
I have to admit, I can see where someone would have mistaken Michael Weatherly for the star of Young Indiana Jones, Powder and The Boondock Saints. Weatherly and Sean Patrick Flanery are sort of similar looking. But, in his chat with TV Guide, Weatherly also detailed some of the other incorrect fan encounters that he's had during his career, and, uh, I don't think that anyone could get how he's been mistaken for some of these actors.
I was once mistaken for George Peppard by a 93-year-old woman who, I think, was suffering dementia. It was at a home for older people. Somebody once thought I was Blair from Facts of Life. That was a blind person, and they were really going more off feel.
Alright, Michael Weatherly, I see what you're doing. There's almost no way that you were honestly mistaken for George Peppard (The A-Team), who actually died in 1994, or actress Lisa Whelchel who played Blair on Facts of Life. I say almost no way, because you can never tell with fans. People tend to get kinda silly when they think they've seen someone famous, so, really, you never know.
For now, we can all remind ourselves of what Michael Weatherly looks like by watching his new show, Bull, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.
