How long does it take to do an episode?Eight days. It is quick to do 50 minutes; it’s almost like a mini-movie. The whole season takes 10 months out of the year. It’s work, man! It’s the hardest work I’ve done so far.
It must be cool to be part of CSI, though?
Yeah, it is cool. It’s brought me to London – I was there last year doing some promotion. I did a thing for Channel 5 in London, a little commercial bit. I’ve never seen it but I’d like to! I’m lucky to have this job!
When you got called for the job, was it cool?
It was. David Caruso from Miami told me to take a big long vacation before I got the job: “go to an island for a month!” and I was like, “I’ll be all right….” I’m regretting that now!
What’s your background?
More film. I was doing independent films and anything I could get my hands on since ’93-04 in New York and then I came out here. I did a series in 1999, a sitcom that was something different, but mostly movies.
They seem to go for movie actors to star in the CSI franchise…
Yeah, I don’t know… Are they? The lead guys are all movie people.
TV seems to be outdoing film these days.
Yeah, TV is where everybody’s going. The truth is that in the first season, there were scenes in the show that I was happier to do than in the film scripts I was reading. They were better scenes, so it’s been great. I’m very much a film guy and I’m still working on getting that going again for the hiatus.
CSI had Tarantino direct an episode. Who’s your dream guest director?
He’s probably dead! John Cassavetes or someone like that.... He’d probably do better than most from the grave. Who would I want? I’m a big fan of Jim Jarmusch and of course Scorsese. Sam Raimi- I’ve worked with him too and he’d be great for the show. He’ll have me stabbing people!
The quality seems to keep up despite the schedule. Is it the writing?
It’s the writers, yeah. They struggle- they’re busting their chops to keep that quality. We have our down weeks where you don’t have those scenes but they really want to make it a character-driven show with emotional scenes.
And yet most of the CSI franchise is very procedural based. Do you get an input into making it more emotional?
I believe I’ve indirectly had that effect on them, I hope. In the way I’ve approached the character and the way they’ve been big about discussing and evolving the character. They write for me perfectly. We’ve cleared up who this kid is and who he needs to be, so now it’s a matter of the storyline.
Part of your job is reading off the exposition. How do you cope with it?
It’s really depressing (laughs). No, it’s the same process, getting into… I get a lot of help from the technical team, explaining to me what’s going on and it’s not as exciting as doing other scenes but it’s a challenge to make that interesting. I think I’ve tried to hard a parts and realised I could just clearly explain to the audience what’s going on so that they are aware of what’s happening. It’s really just about laying it out for them so they can follow the story.
Did you talk to real life CSIs when you got the role?
If they ask me, I’d be happy to do it. .
Do you enjoy going back and watching shows again?
Initially when we were shooting in New York I had a chance to see some things that you wouldn’t normally see… Morgues, some really sad dark stuff, being in there with dead bodies. I started reading books on the subject in the beginning- ballistics and science. I’m not a science guy, not at all. It actually bothers me, because it makes you feel ignorant. The science of life… the science of chemicals and how they come together to form things. There’s one episode where I’m concocting this stuff from home products, alcohol, bathroom stuff, putting them together to create something and it will work. The guy on set would set me up and using common sense and logic, you get it enough to sell it and explain it.
You deal with some dark stuff. Do you feel a responsibility to get that across as realistically as possible?
My thing is it’s about finding the criminal. That’s the thing that I want to express. I actually have an anger about it on the show and a frustration about it. I’m angry when I see somebody dead and the way I’m going to resolve it is by finding out who did it. That’s my guy’s thing on the show. When he gets them, he uses humour and messes with them. He enjoys bringing in the suspects. I focus on the humour of this guy, someone who is emotional and passionate – over-emotional, probably but also has this side of science. Usually you don’t find that in one person. That’s why I dig playing him.
How do the real-life CSIs deal with being around death?
They always said that being around death and dead bodies you have to assume it’s the same as working in a coffee shop. You can’t play it as a traumatic thing. But sometimes I do that with my guy- let things effect me.
Do you have a favourite episode?
They’re all running together! I’m really excited about one coming up, there’s an episode we did last year called Tanglewood where we learn about where I came from, that I grew up in New York with a bunch of kids who were sons of wise guys and criminals so I have that attachment in my past that you saw a little of, and now you’re going to see more of it. That’ll be one of those episodes where there could be crying or… developing character!
Is it frustrating not to have as much character development as you’d like?
Extremely creatively frustrating. To me, being an actor is about people and learning about them, relationships and all those qualities a person has, that’s what I’m into. So it’s hard when you can’t and don’t do that. But then I’ve learned to realise this is a whole other thing I’m learning how to do?
Are you close with the cast?
It’s growing every day. Anna (Belknap) is new and I’ve been working with her and getting to know her character. With Gary (Sinise) I feel like I’ve gotten really close. I feel like I haven’t seen him in months, because we haven’t had scenes together. Eddie (Cahill) I hadn’t really worked with, but now it feels like I’ve been doing loads of scenes with him in the last two episodes. So it’s cool like that. We all get along, there’s no drama or stories.
Do you ever get creeped out by the corpses?
Right now we’re working on the corpse with the flesh-eating bugs! Last episode we had to eat insects. We go to this high-end underground, elite Manhattan world where the cuisine is fried worms or Peruvian centipedes. It’s a delicacy- which is another thing I can’t relate to! I’m there and I see that and I’m like, “Yeah, all right… When in Rome” and I have to eat a worm and that’s… interesting!
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Sam Raimi- I’ve worked with him too and he’d be great for the show. He’ll have me stabbing people!
ROTFL!!!