Procter: It's Just A Search For The Truth

Emily Procter puts a lot of time and effort into her role as Calleigh Duquesne on CSI: Miami.

Before she began filming Miami, Procter trained at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and spoke to the real-life men and women whose job she was going to portray on the show. "I spent a lot of time picking the brains of the police officers whom I was going to be working with," she told CBS Watch!, referring to the technical advisors for the show. "I asked them about their lives and how their work affected their personal lives." Procter said that she became "aware of the incredible sacrifice made by the people who do the job" and explained that it is "a loss of innocence for them, it's a loss of freedom. Once you become aware of how things happen, the world looks so different."

What Procter learned from the men and women who solve real crimes was important to her character on Miami. "The more answers you can give people, the more you can put an end to their suffering," she said. "There'll never be an answer to 'Why did this happen?' or 'Why did someone do this?' But at least there can be an answer to 'How did it happen?' or 'Who did it?' And I think where Calleigh comes from is, 'I just want you to tell me the truth. I just want the truth so I can put it to rest.' It's just a search for the truth." Procter described Calleigh as someone who is "dedicated to doing her job well" but points out that "she probably doesn't know herself very well. You never see her making a lot of personal choices. I don't think she has any personal choices. She just stays in the lab and puts two and two together."

According to CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler, Procter is very intuitive about her character. "She's so striking, she's so gorgeous-how could she be as strong as she is? She's deceptively strong. She's the Steel Magnolia. She's got that quality, and she brings that to Calleigh." In addition to strength, Procter's character also possesses a great deal of intelligence--something Procter herself appreciates. "One of the things I like most about the show is that it comes from the standpoint that solving the crime is cool, as opposed to committing it," she said. "'Knowledge is power' is the thread that runs through all of the CSI shows."

Despite being an intelligent, beautiful woman, Calleigh has had a hard time forming romantic attachments. Toward the end of the last season of Miami, however, there was a hint that something might be brewing between her and Eric Delko (Adam Rodriguez). According to Procter, these scenes aren't necessarily easy to film. "It's nice to have some romance to play," she said, "but at the same time, when you've spent that amount of hours with someone every week for five years, it's ... it's not romantic! We'll do a scene, and we have to turn around and ask people, 'Do y'all think that's sexy? Did that look sexy?'" Even if filming romantic scenes might be awkward, Procter had nothing but positive things to say about the people she works with. "There are no prima donnas on this show," she said. "Everyone has different personalities, everyone has good points and bad points, but you will never hear of pettiness on our set. It just isn't allowed."

Procter doesn't always take things so seriously. "You know, CSI is really just Scooby Doo," she joked. "Without a doubt, I'm Velma. 'Everyone get in the van! We gotta go! Quit fooling around!' And Horatio [David Caruso] is Fred. And Alexx [Khandi Alexander] is Daphne-she even wore the head scarf!" Outside of work, Procter is passionate about life and spending time with the people that she loves. She pointed out that her friends and family don't care if she's a television star, explaining that "I get absolutely no slack!" When she's not with her loved ones, Procter likes to try new things. She enjoys traveling and trying new food, and she even learned to race so she could participate in the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach, California this past April. "People are always, like, 'She'll never do that.' But I do! And I love it," she said.

The original interview is from CBS Watch!. Thanks to Shane from TalkCSI for sharing this news article.

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