Helgenberger Discusses The Past & Her Future With ‘CSI’

Marg Helgenberger has portrayed Catherine Willows for the past ten seasons on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. With season eleven on the way, the actress reflects on the show’s beginning, the past ten years and whether or not she’ll be sticking with the series.

CSI aired on Fridays when it first began. Despite starting on such a difficult night, CSI found an audience. “It surpassed anybody’s expectations, and within half a season we were moved to Thursday nights,” Helgenberger told Retro 1260 AM’s Heart of Hollywood. Thursday was—and still is—the hottest night on TV, so it was a risk to put CSI up against popular shows at the time. Fortunately, CSI flourished in its new timeslot—and it is still there ten seasons later.

One of the elements that makes CSI distinct is the graphic nature of the programme. “There have been a few times in which I had to actually get out of the room, and it was just way too graphic for me,” Helgenberger revealed. The episodes that really stick with her, however, are not the ones with the most blood and guts. “The psychological ones, the ones that get under your skin more, are the ones that I have nightmares about more than the ones that are somebody being bludgeoned to death or something,” she explained.

After William Petersen (Gil Grissom) left the show, Helgenberger’s character took charge of the Las Vegas crime lab. “I’m enjoying it,” the actress said. However, stepping into a leadership role was not easy. “I think it took Catherine a little bit of time to figure out where she stood in terms of her position of power,” Helgenberger explained. Ultimately, the character gained confidence in her abilities.

In addition to confidence, Catherine has “gained a lot more wisdom and maturity” over the years, Helgenberger said. In some ways, the actress’s growth as a person has bled into the character and vice versa. “I’ve been able to draw [on] a lot of my personal life for the character,” she revealed. Her own experiences as a mother, for example, gave Helgenberger a great deal of insight into how her character would respond to the challenges of raising a child.

Helgenberger hopes some of her character’s traits will transfer to her as well. “Catherine’s leadership skills and her ability to think on her feet and being direct are qualities that I really hope rub off on me,” the actress said with a laugh. “For whatever reason, I don’t feel I’m a natural born leader in my real life.”

With CSI going into its eleventh season, Helgenberger has a big decision to make. It was previously reported that the actress’s contract was up for renewal. Helgenberger revealed that she will be back for season eleven, but her future with the show still remains up in the air. “Somewhere midway through the season or before, I’ll need to make a decision if I want to have this be the last season or not for me,” she explained.

“It seems to have a lot of life in it still,” Helgenberger said of the series. “The thing I’m most happy about the show is that it still has retained its quality. A lot of the people who were in it since day one, including the executive producer Carol Mendelsohn, still really care about the show and care about the quality.”

As CSI Files previously reported, Mendelsohn just signed on for four more years with CBS. Franchise creator Anthony Zuiker will return to the flagship series for the first four episodes of the season. There are also a few new writers on the CSI staff, and fans of the series can look forward to seeing some special guest stars on screen when season eleven gets underway in the fall.

Source: Margamania. The interview can be heard in its entirety at Retro1260.com. Thanks to EricaSJ and Shane from TalkCSI for the heads up.