Boyfriend Betrayal Changed Stella's Life, Says Kanakaredes

CSI: New York star Melina Kanakaredes (Stella Bonasera) last week discussed the changes her character will go through after being forced to shoot Frankie in last month's "All Access."

"My character has had a love interest who's a nice sculptor, seemingly wonderful," Kanakaredes said while appearing on the CBS Early Show. "She saw that he had been filming them having sex in his apartment which, as a detective, you know, it's kind of like the doctor who's a horrible patient. 'How did I not see this coming?' She was equally as angry at herself as she was at the situation. And horrified as a woman and as a person, having been violated in that way. And so, clearly, she breaks up with him right away."

After the break-up, Stella was attacked by Frankie and forced to shoot him, suddenly placing the character in a similar position to that of many suspects she'd dealt with. "What's amazing is that the whole process of turning the table on an actor, and on a character, on a person, is kind of what happens in life, which is sort of delicious: You now are the person who's being fingerprinted and questioned, and why did you shoot him three times when he was already dead at two bullets? "My favorite line is, 'I just kept firing the gun until I felt safe.' And it's really interesting to see the vulnerability in a human being who's so tough all the time."

Kanakaredes concluded by saying she expects the experience will make Stella better at her job. "[Now,] the person — victims — aren't going to be looked at by Stella the same way ever again."

In the full interview, Kanakaredes also discussed the way she manages to combine a full-time job on a television show and being a mother of two. Head over to the CBS site to read that

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