Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playing Me.”

CSI Files

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As most fans are aware by now, CSI star <font color=yellow>William Petersen</font> is currently enjoying a sabbatical from the show to return to his theater roots for a five-week run of <font color=yellow>Conor McPherson</font>’s “A Dublin Carol.” Petersen feared that if he went any longer without doing theater, he might develop stage fright or lose his skills.

Petersen says it’s hard doing the same thing week after week. He enjoys having different kinds of feelings and thoughts. “It’s great that they’d let me do this, that a lead actor would be allowed to leave in the middle of the season to do other work,” he says. “I think they know how much theater means to me. If you can’t revive yourself and take some risks, then you get too stale.”

CSI Executive Producer <font color=yellow>Carol Mendelsohn</font> said, “Billy Petersen brings his immeasurable talent to ‘CSI’ weekly. He has infused Grissom with nuanced life and made him the smartest, coolest nerd on TV. And like Grissom, Petersen is the leader of our team.”

Petersen is equally valued in theater. According to <font color=yellow>Robert Falls</font>, artistic director of <font color=blue>Goodman Theater</font>, who has worked with Petersen in Chicago, “Billy is one of the most physically fearless actors around. … But there’s a real delicacy, sensitivity, and beauty in his work.” Falls continues on to say, “Even in stillness, you can’t take your eyes off Billy. There’s an explosiveness under the surface.”

To read the story in full, visit <A class="link" HREF=http://www.pe.com/entertainment/stories/PE-Fea_Daily_D-tv.csi.petersen2.82e596.html>The Press Enterprise</a>.

Additionally, Trinity Rep has photographs on Petersen in “A Dublin Carol” available on their site. To view the pictures, head over to <A class="link" HREF=http://www.trinityrep.com/on_stage/upcoming_season/dublin_carol_gallery.php>Trinity Rep</a>.<center></center>
 
You know what? As much as I love Bill Petersen and the character of Grissom (who is of course an original and totally fantastic), I'm seriously tired of hearing him say the same thing over and over again. Every comment from the guys these days is screaming "I want out of this." And it's honestly starting to sound like whining to me. I almost want to yell, "Then quit the show and get on with it already!!!!" :mad:

Almost. ;)
 
naaaah, right now he's not saying he wants to quit, he just says it's great to have a break and do something else for 5 weeks. and to be honest i agree with him. how many celebs do you see doing theater after such an amazing success? not many, really. so i think it's great he's allowing normal people to see him acting, live, for 20 bucks.

besides i heard the play is really good, and he's just amazing. i also agree with everything which was said about him in this article <3
 
I don't know... I kinda agree with BabaOReilly on this one... he seems like he's whining. I read a rumor somewhere that he's quitting after this season... anybody know if that's true?
 
I honestly hope he leaves after this season. I hope he can return to theatre and all that. It's a great television show, but his contract is supposed to end this year unless he renews, and I hope he takes the time off to be with his beautiful wife and perform more in theatre. I mean, I saw a raw cut of an interview with him last week, and he's so alive talking about theatre and about stage-work. It's great to see him so energized! I think he's just trying to prepare all of us if he does decide to let his contract run out, rather than renewing it.
 
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a given that he's leaving after this season. Again, all the interviews he's given for, oh say the last two years or so seem to point in that direction. ;)

I'll miss him, but such is life.
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

i hate seeing tv actors complain about the shows they are on. He gets paid SO much money, stop complaining about it! If you don't like playing the same character, then don't do a tv show! I guess i am just getting sick of actors who use tv to get famous, then ditch the show...he really is only famous because he is Grissom. It is like xfiles all over again... :rolleyes:
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

im pretty sure in an interview last year he said the same kind of thing, that he was tired of coming in playing the same character. and i always want to ask, what did you expect was going to happen? did you think you were signing up for a mediocre show that would get 5 seasons and youd be out?
if hes done hes done, thats fine with me. hes put his time in and was great, but dont complain about the work load. im sure compared to other shows csi has very long hours to get everything done. he would have known that going in.
billy has given csi so much and im sure its given him just as much in return, and its coming across to me at least that hes bad mouthing the show. if youre ready to move on, i for one dont need an excuse. just say youre ready to move on and actually do it.
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

what did you expect was going to happen? did you think you were signing up for a mediocre show that would get 5 seasons and youd be out?
Click to expand...
well, I don't think anyone was expecting CSI to be *quite* as big as it is :lol:
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

true enough :lol: i really respect george eads though, as hard as the shows been he says hell be there til the end. like i said, i completely understand if billy is done with the show. i just dont think he needs to justify his choice by talking about how much of his life has been devoted to grissom the past 7 years.
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

I agree. I mean, if he wants out, that's fine. He won't be the first CSI actor to leave. But he doesn't need to complain about it. He could have left before if he'd really wanted to. And he should be happy that he's part of something so huge, and revolutionary.
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

*wipes away tears* Can't stand the thought of William Petersen leaving the show....oh well, thank goodness David Caruso and Gary Sinise will still be with us....
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

Billy Petersen seems to be so ungrateful for everything that he has been given.

I say leave Billy. It's kind of like a boring marriage where one partner threatens to leave all the time. You get to the point where you say, 'Here's your hat, here's your bag, don't let the door slam you in the butt!'

Go Billy, and let the other guys finally get a bigger slice of the pie!

I'd rather have CSI go down in ratings, and yet have more screen time with the others then watch Billy mope around the set in his diva-like fashion.

What I'd be mad about is if the TPTB decided to cancel the show if they left. They've got so much potential with the others that they just wasted. It would be a damn shame to let guys like Gary, George, Eric and Jorja fall to the wayside because in TPTB's narrow-mindedness they can't see what talent they possess on the set. You may not have the number one show on TV, but you'd still have a hell of a good show.

Seriously, ratings are not always indicative of a show's quality. It is indicative of a show's popularity with viewers and viewers are fickle in general.

Maybe CSI needs to reinvent itself if Billy leaves rather then trying to carry on without the moral compass of the show. I think the moral compass needs to be reinvented.

I love Grissom the character dearly, but the actor is starting to annoy me.

Billy just do what you have to do rather then string along the fans.
 
Re: Petersen: “I Spend More Time Playing Grissom Than Playin

Very well said, myfuturecsi!
 
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