Smith: Every Episode Is Exciting

By Rachel
November 24, 2008 - 10:56 AM

The rookie dives right in.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation welcomed Lauren Lee Smith (Riley Adams) to the cast during the ninth season after the death of Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan). "Riley basically just sort of jumps on board head first, and she's put to work right away with no sort of idea of what the team has been going through," Smith explained to CBS.

"It's very interesting seeing how her relationships are and the chemistry between each of the characters," she continued. "I find that Riley and Greg [Sanders (Eric Szmanda)] sort of have this brother-sister, back and forth banter, and then Nick [Stokes (George Eads)] sort of doesn't really put up with any of Riley's crap. Riley looks up to Catherine [Willows (Marg Helgenberger)] a little bit. She sees this strong, beautiful woman."

When it comes to Gil Grissom (William Petersen), Riley sometimes clashes with the team leader. "She wasn't mentored by Grissom, so she has a little bit of a different dynamic than the rest of the cast, and she likes to sort of question him," Smith explained. "She goes against any sort of authority figures a little bit. She likes to challenge authority. She likes to push people's buttons."

"I really love her sense of humor. She's never at a loss for words, and she always has something witty and wry to say to everyone," Smith said of her character. "I think they're creating a very interesting character and a character that we really haven't seen on CSI yet, so it's good to be a part of that." The actress shared that she would like to see more quirks for Riley. "I really like that a lot," she explained. "I think it's the sort of oddball things that she's done so far. Every episode, every script that I get, it's fascinating and exciting for me to receive them and sort of see what they're doing with her every week."

"It's been such a lovely experience" to join the show, Smith said. She likened CSI to a "well-oiled machine" and revealed that each member of the cast made sure to welcome her in their own way. "I'm very grateful to all of them for that," she said. "I feel very fortunate, really. At the end of the day, I feel very, very lucky. The entire cast and crew, everyone was so welcoming and made it such an easy transition."

The original interviews can be viewed here and here, courtesy of CBS, or you can watch them both below.