Michael Weatherly may play an ex-college jock with a bachelor’s degree on CBS’ hit series “NCIS.” But in real life, Agent Tony DiNozzo’s alter ego was a BU dropout who ended up selling shoes and singing in the subway!

“I had all kinds of ideas at age 18 and none of them included the normal undergrad lifestyle,” said Weatherly, who is in town this week on promotional and personal biz. “The fall of 1986 was incredible – the Red Sox and Mets in the World Series, Elvis Costello and Aimee Mann at the Orpheum. I had to go off and join the circus!”

Irrepressible, hunky Michael Weatherly of CBS’s “NCIS” refuses to be pinned down on the season-ending story of the show, which will include the departure of a major character. “I feel bad that this is being put out that someone is leaving “NCIS.” People assume it’s one of the actors, but it’s a guy in wardrobe,” he deadpans. “Zippy, we called him, because he was the guy who installed all the zippers.