CSI Files
Captain
<p><font color=yellow>Eddie Cahill</font>'s character, Don Flack, has always been on hand to provide a barbed quip or an intense grilling, but in <i>CSI: New York</i>'s fifth season, the brash homicide detective has moved into the spotlight. In the fifth season opener, <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/newyork/season5/veritas.shtml">"Veritas"</a>, audiences were introduced to Flack's younger sister, Samantha (<font color=yellow>Kathleen Munroe</font>), and the siblings' contentious relationship when her name popped up during the course of an investigation. But it hasn't been all work and no play for the good detective--he also started a relationship with colleague Jessica Angell (<font color=yellow>Emmanuelle Vaugier</font>). Cahill spoke with CSI Files' <font color=yellow>Kristine Huntley</font> about the attention his character has gotten this season, the new relationships that have opened up for him and the hot spot Flack found himself in after a suspect died in his custody.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> Fifth season has been a great season for you so far! We've met Flack's sister, he's got a love interest now and he had a bit of an ordeal at work. Why do you think the attention has turned to Flack this season?<p><b>Eddie Cahill:</b> One, I truly don't know and two, I think it was just probably time. It was time. The character's been around [long enough] and the writers and myself have played around with him enough that we felt ready to get into some more stuff. I guess it just made sense. Everyone else was getting something going and they could put a little focus on Flack. From a personal standpoint, I don't think it could have been timed out any better because I was thinking about being in the fifth season of the show and suddenly, something that dawned on me [was that], more than any other season before, I'm less and less concerned with making mistakes. I might be at a point where I'm not worried about making a mistake with the character. To then have things like this thrown into the mix, I get to approach them from more of a secure standpoint, which just makes the experience more complete--when you're not self conscious, when you're not just focused on not screwing it all up! You're focused on it, but when you're not too concerned with f---ing up with it.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> I imagine you feel like you know him after five seasons.<p><b>Cahill:</b> I do, yeah. And that kind of snuck up on me and sort of took me by surprise. I mean it's been going that way probably for the last season and a half, but yeah I feel good.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> We've seen Flack's younger sister, Sam, twice, and the two are definitely different. Do you think the dynamic is informed by the fact that Flack is something of the golden child, following in his father's footsteps?<p><b>Cahill:</b> I think in some respects my opinion of that is that that might be the way she sees the situation. That question was asked from Sam's perspective in a way. I don't know that Flack is or isn't the golden child. I certainly don't think he walks on water. I think he might have less obvious issues. He's got his own way of dealing with whatever [those issues are]. She certainly, I mean she said it in so many words, that to Sam he is [the golden child]. And I don't think that's necessarily true. I don't know if we'll ever figure out why, but just for my own personal belief, I don't think anybody's perfect. But I do understand that in sibling relationships or even friend relationships, one or the other or both parties find themselves [saying], "I wouldn't have these problems [if I were you]." But I like the dynamic. And I think Kathleen Munroe is great. That's another thing, too--having the experience of doing this as long as I have, to have an actress like that come in. It was just so amazing how so much of it was unspoken. It just kind of clicked, and she just kind of fell right in stride. It gave me sort of a challenge and just informed the character so much to have a different sort of relationship.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> There really is a great sibling-like dynamic between you two!<p><b>Cahill:</b> That kind of surprised me. Because you read the script and you never know--it all moves so fast, you don't quite know how it's going to play out. That was a real pleasant surprise, when I got down there. I had this experience with a guest star the other day, this kid who was playing a Nazi-kind of character. This kid was so poised, he was fucking scary in so many ways, that suddenly I find myself five seasons into this show going, "What the hell do I do here? I can't just dance around this guy. I can't Flack him until the scene's over, it's just not going to work with him!" And it was really kind of fascinating. On the same token, to have someone like Kathleen come in, well I can't treat her [like some ordinary suspect]. A lot of experiences on this show are dealing with Mac, dealing with Danny, or dealing with any one of our other characters, and then dealing with people who he for the most part thinks are guilty or actually are guilty, and he's got kind of a way of doing that. There have been a couple of moments this season where I've been forced rethink [my approach], where maybe the snark's not going to work or the kind of just bearing down isn't going to work, where I have to change it up. So that's the joy of having different qualities of relationships pop up.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> Obviously Flack had a turning point when he realized that Sam was struggling with an alcohol problem. How do you think that will inform their relationship on his part?<p><HR ALIGN="CENTER" SIZE="1" WIDTH="45%" COLOR="#007BB5"><p>To read the full interviews, please click <A HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/interviews/eddie_cahill4.shtml">here</A>.<center></center>
