Sinise Attracted To The Stability 'New York' Provides

Gary Sinise (Mac Taylor) has adapted nicely to his job on CSI: New York and enjoys the stability the show offers. But the actor's first instinct was to decline the role.

"My initial reaction when my agents called was: 'That's not what I'm looking for,'" the actor told British Radio Times. "I didn't want to do it because I'm a character actor, I've played a lot of different roles and I like having the freedom to do different things. What scared me about a TV series was settling into one thing. I started to weigh the pros of doing it against the cons of this point in my life right now.

Ultimately, Sinise's decision to accept the role was based on the needs of his family. "A lot had to do with my family life and the fact that with CSI: New York I don't have to travel, I can be around home with my kids. And my wife really wanted me to do it."

One thing Sinise still wants no part of, however, is the alleged animosity between the actors of all three shows. "[William]Petersen I've known for years from Chicago [Sinise was a founder of the Steppenwolf theatre company in Chicago, for which Petersen also performed], but I didn't talk to him before this. I didn't need to. The other guys are good on their shows, and very different."

Before heading back to the set of New York, however, Sinise will make sure to enjoy one of his passions: his charity work. "I've been involved with veterans' groups for many years, way before Forrest Gump. When they came home from Vietnam, veterans were treated very badly by the US public. They went off to serve their country, some of them sacrificed parts of their bodies, and they came back and got spat on. There were a lot of Lt. Dans. I want to make sure our troops are treated a lot better than 30 years ago."

If you live in the UK, pick up your copy of British Radio Times to read the rest of the interview. Thanks to Seth for the transcript!

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