Laurence Fishburne to join ‘CSI’
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Laurence Fishburne, the Oscar-nominated actor, will join the cast of ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ in its ninth season, the network announced this morning. His character will first appear in the ninth episode of the season.
It will be the first regular primetime TV series role for Fishburne, who is best known for his numerous film roles, including “Boyz N The Hood,” “Apocalypse Now,” “What”s Love Got To Do With It,” and “The Matrix” franchise. He was most recently seen in “Thurgood,” his one-man show about Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, which won him a Tony Award nomination for best actor in a drama.
This summer, William Petersen, the actor who had led ‘CSI’ since its first season, said he will leave the show in its 10th episode to pursue other projects. In July, Nina Tassler, the CBS President of Entertainment, told members of the press that the show’s executive producers were pursuing Fishburne, as well as John Malkovich, to replace Petersen.
Tassler said at the time that the new character would join the Las Vegas crime lab on the side of good, but has a genetic pattern that -- yikes -- is common to serial killers. Monday’s press release elaborated: ‘His focus is on understanding criminal behavior, how and why people commit acts of violence -– tendencies he disturbingly sees within himself.’
Update: Fishburne and the show’s executives producers discuss the upcoming changes with reporters.
In a teleconference with reporters, Fishburne, whose previous TV series experience was most notably as Cowboy Curtis on ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse,’ said he will be coming to the series with a fresh eye.
‘To be perfectly frank, I felt a little stupid and embarrassed that I hadn’t watched the show,’ said Fishburne who has since caught up. ‘But the episodes to me were engaging and wonderful, dark and moody - like the work I’ve been involved in.’
The actor stressed he did not want his star power to overshadow the show.
‘I don’t want anyone to mistake my presence for the event,’ he said. ‘The event is the show.’
Petersen’s and Fisburne’s characters will overlap in the season’s ninth and tenth episodes where the two will collaborate on a case. The specifics of Fishburne’s character are still being worked out, but he will have a background as a medical pathologist. The show’s writers are referring internally to the character as ‘The Professor.’
‘This character will feel more at home in the bowels of the coroner’s office than in the halls of CSI,’ said Carol Mendelsohn, one of the show’s executive producers.
The original version of ‘CSI’ continues to be CBS’ most-watched show.
-- Greg Braxton
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said that the ‘CSI’ part will be Fishburne’s first regular TV series. It has been updated to reflect that it will be his first regular primetime series.
