Fishburne: I Am Still Figuring It Out

Laurence Fishburne (Dr Ray Langston) came in to replace William Petersen (Gil Grissom) as the lead on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation last season, but he’s still working to understand his character.

Since becoming a CSI, Langston has grown as an investigator and earned a promotion within the Las Vegas crime lab. However, getting inside Langston’s head is still a work in progress for Fishburne. “I am still figuring it out,” the actor said. “Watching episodes of each season of the show from season one to four (before I started) I was able to figure out that none of them (the actors) knew who their characters were until the end of season two. It takes two years to figure this s— out because it’s structured around the crime, not the character.”

“I’ve been here for a year now, so it takes a long time and maybe I am halfway there,” Fishburne continued. While he is working to understand who Langston is, he is surrounded by actors who have had years to figure out their own characters. “The new guy’s job is always hard,” he said. “It’s always a little overwhelming.”

It might be difficult to come into a show like CSI and take over for an established character, but Fishburne was glad to have the opportunity. “I was very fortunate to have been asked to do this,” he said. “I never will be Grissom, but what I can say is that this is a very, very good television show. The storytelling and the fact they have been telling these murder mystery stories for (almost) 10 years and doing it beautifully in a smart way, I was impressed by that.” He added, “I felt really, really kind of honoured to be asked to be part of it. I was more excited than scared.”