Helgenberger: We Have A Lot Of Fun

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation‘s leading lady Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows) spoke to Rachael Ray about the show, new costar Laurence Fishburne (Dr Ray Langston), her life on the dating scene and running into CSI: New York‘s Gary Sinise (Mac Taylor).

As CSI Files previously reported, Helgenberger stopped by the Rachael Ray Show on Thursday, May 6. With CSI preparing to finish its tenth season on the air, the actress wonders how the time has passed so quickly. “Wow, where did those ten years go?” She asked. “At times it feels like an eternity [since] we started, and then it seems like just yesterday.” The cast still works long hours, but not as long as when the show first began. “We get it down to 12 hours a day,” she added, explaining that they work for ten-and-a-half months out of the year.

The addition of Laurence Fishburne to the cast in the wake of William Petersen‘s (Gil Grissom) departure has reinvigorated the series. “He’s funny, he’s cool, he’s a great actor, a class act—he’s just been great,” Helgenberger said of her new costar. “We’ve really enjoyed having him on the show.”

The actress added that CSI has found its stride this season. “Last season was the transition of Billy leaving the show and Laurence coming on, and I think this year we really got it,” she said. “His character was more defined, and the ensemble group was more defined too.”

When it comes to working with a male-dominated cast like CSI, Helgenberger knows just how to hold her own. “With a whip,” she teased. “They’re very cool guys. We have a lot of fun. Honestly, we all really like and respect each other, so we laugh a lot.”

Helgenberger enjoys being an actress. “I like my job. I love playing off somebody,” she explained. Her wishlist of costars includes Al Pacino, Viggo Mortensen and Catherine O’Hara.

When it comes to the actors from the two CSI spinoffs, Helgenberger is familiar with some of her franchise costars. “We occasionally bump into each other at various events and things like that,” she said. “Some of them I’ve met before, and some of them I’m just meeting then.” One person she met before they shared the CSI connection was CSI: New York leading man Gary Sinise. Several years ago, she bumped into the actor at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, California. She was there for a charity event with her son, Hugh, and Sinise was watching his own son perform with a band on stage.

“I actually have known Gary since he directed an episode of China Beach, which was my first series,” Helgenberger explained. Back then, she and Sinise shared their experiences as new parents since they had both welcomed new babies into the world—to meet again when Hugh was 15 and Sinise’s son was performing in a band was interesting. “It was just so cool,” she said.

After getting a divorce from her husband, former Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg, Helgenberger got back into the dating scene last year. She’s been seeing someone outside of the entertainment business since around Thanksgiving. They met through a mutual friend. “He’s a lot of fun and sweet and cute and interesting,” the actress shared. “He’s got all the qualities that keep me interested.”

Source: Margamania. You can watch a clip of the interview on Rachael Ray’s website. Thanks to EricaSJ from TalkCSI for the heads up.