Sinise: 'New York' Offers Stability

See Also: 'Blink' Episode Guide

What enticed Oscar-nominated film star Gary Sinise (Mac Taylor) to take the lead role in a prodecural crime drama? One word: stability.

"That was a huge factor," Sinise told the Toronto Star's Rob Salem. "I quite frankly gave up the creative freedom to play a lot of different characters and do a lot of different kinds of things for the stability of having a steady job at home."

Although CSI: New York is set in the Big Apple, the show is primarily shot in California, with occasional forays to the East Coast for location filming. Sinise said he's relishing the chance to spend more time with his family, but what about the flip side -- playing the same character for most of the year? "It's like the movie that doesn't end. It just continues to go, if you're lucky enough to have success. And we're hopeful that the show will be successful, and we'll get some time out of it, and I'll be able to explore a lot of different aspects of who this guy is and where he comes from."

Crime procedurals are traditionally known for their limited emphasis on characterisation, but CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without a Trace, both from the stable of uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, have integrated the primary characters into the story without compromising the traditional crime solving elements. Sinise said CSI: New York creator Anthony Zuiker plans to take that to a new level in the Big Apple incarnation.

"Anthony Zuiker said he wanted to really explore the people in this series, that he was very interested in discovering what makes them tick, and what's going on in their lives, as opposed to just strictly following the clues ..."

That said, forensic investigation (and all the mangled corpses, DNA samples and blood spatter that comes with it) is still an integral part of the show. Sinise said he hasn't found the technical language too hard to handle, but there have been a few costuming problems. "Putting on the rubber gloves is probably the greatest challenge. Your fingers tend to get stuck ..."

The complete interview can be found here at the Toronto Star. CSI: New York debuts tonight at 10:00 p.m. on CBS.

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