Belknap And Cahill Share What's Important

Family matters to the stars of CSI: New York.

Anna Belknap (Lindsay Monroe) is pregnant with her second child, and the New York actress has been hard at work. The baby is due in February, and Belknap admitted that sharing the good news made her a bit nervous. "This is a very family-oriented crew, all my bosses have children. They never gave any indication that it wouldn't be okay, but I was kind of nervous to tell them because you never know what their response is gonna be," she explained to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. "But I always know they're two separate things — career and family — and I always knew I wanted a family."

Belknap's costar Eddie Cahill also values family. "I grew up in a network of family friends who all had kids my age," he said. "We were all kind of raised together at the same time. I certainly had my own two parents but as I get older in life and think about having a family of my own, I think I would like that for my children — to be in a community of close familiar relationships that were fundamental in raising me."

Both actors also enjoy the theater. Cahill said he has the desire to return to the stage but that he hasn't made any plans to do so. "It's always a dream of mine to be a part of the New York theater circuit and I still have that dream," he shared. "We'll see. I hope. I don't have the time to do it now."

Belknap misses the immediate response of performing in front of an audience. "I love doing theater and one of the things that's hard on television is that you don't have the audience there, you don't get that rush from the audience, all that energy and you don't get that instant feedback," she said. "You don't get two hours to go on your full journey. I like the challenge of being truthful on camera. I feel like onstage you can get away with a little bit more. I miss the audience, I would say."

Neither actor gets a tremendous amount of extra attention for being on New York. "I don't get inundated by paparazzi, I'm too boring," Belknap claimed. "My life is totally pretty much normal. I don't get recognized all that much especially here in LA where people are so used to seeing people. Sometimes in airports, people come up who are big fans of the show." Cahill doesn't really keep track of the amount of attention he receives. "There have been moments where I'd get recognized a bit more but it's never been oppressive," he said. "Nor have I ever been able to measure if it's decidedly more female or male or young or old."

While the show is set in the Big Apple, CSI: NY does most of its filming in Los Angeles. "I would love to move back home but I like shooting in LA," Cahill said, adding that the city is "built for shooting." However, injecting some of the character of New York City into the show is crucial to getting the right feel. "Something I appreciate about New York is there's a real improvisational nature to living there and existing there because you go outside of your house to do your laundry and you can fall in love or get mugged before you can even get your underwear in the dryer," the actor explained.

"I think the show has incorporated a little bit more of that and in that respect, having New York play its role in the show is of tremendous importance," Cahill continued. "As time has gone on they've been able to bring in that authentic energy." While the series works to incorporate more of the genuine New York vibe, the characters will be undergoing some changes as the show continues its fifth year. Belknap's pregnancy is being written into the plot, and the actress said, "We're all going to grow up a bit this season."

The interviews with Anna Belknap and Eddie Cahill are from Inquirer.Net.

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