William Petersen on real Gil Grissom
William Petersen: "I think it all, for him, is some sort of a study. He knows what he can and can't handle."
Julie Chen: How big is his heart?
William Petersen: "I think he has a big heart. I don't think he would do what he does if he didn't have a big heart. He likes to pretend he has a big brain instead."
Julie Chen: You think that he doesn't have a big brain?
William Petersen: "No. I'm just saing he has a big heart."
Julie Chen: Bigger heart or bigger brain?
William Petersen: "I didn't say which one was bigger...I'm just saying that Grissom would prefer you to think that his brain was bigger. It makes it easier for him."
Julie Chen: So, he is human?
William Petersen: "Probably"
After six years of getting up close and personal with murder and its aftermath, Petersen seems to understand what real CSIs also know: bottom line, it's just a job.
William Petersen: "What happens over the course of time is that, the more you see, the more you get used to it. I mean, it is true of the real CSIs, and policemen, and such like that. I think that's also true of us at a certain point. You know...we do it all the time. Day in and day out, not just Thursday nights, so maybe we're a little more inured to it."
Julie Chen: Do you ever get a subject matter or a script where something still shocks you?
William Petersen: "I don't like it when they mess with kids. Those are usually the thing, the ones that are most disturbing for me."
William Petersen: "One of the things about this show is that, you know, it happens. We come on the show after the bad thing has happened. And we rebuild it, on some level. And, so, it makes it more tolerable…there's a perspective to it, which is, I think, helpful, not only to our audience, but also to our actors."
