USA Weekend, 20. January 2002

A real reality show

William Petersen, star of CBS' surprise hit series "CSI", seeks ultimate truths in some unseemly places.

By Jeffrey Zaslow

The "X-Files" became a cult hit in the '90s by reminding TV viewers that "the truth is out there." For the new millennium, actor William Petersen has another motto: "The truth is in there."

In the crime lab, that is. On "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", the surprise hit CBS drama (Thursdays, 9 p.m. ET) that's up for the Golden Globe for best TV drama series this weekend, Petersen plays an investigator who views the lab as a place where ultimate truths are discovered. Who's the murderer? How did he do it? If there's a strand of hair or a partial fingerprint, science and high-tech gadgetry can provide irrefutable answers.

"X-Files" was the end of one era, and "CSI" is the beginning of another," Petersen says. "X-Files" operated off of 'What if?' Are UFOs out there? Who knows? It's completely nebulous. But our show is about reality. Forget "Survivor". "CSI" is the real reality show."

As many as 25 million Americans a week now tune in to watch Petersen and his band of clever investigators solve crime-scene puzzles. The actor thinks viewers are hooked on his show because they're tired of "watching dumb people think for an hour" on its time-slot competitor, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. "Our audience gets to watch smart people think," he says.

Long a journeyman actor ("Manhunter", "To Live and Die in L.A."), Petersen turns 49 next month, and he has a playful attitude about his new standing as a TV hunk. "On CBS, as long as I stay younger than Mike Wallace and Dan Rather, I'm OK."

Born in Evanston, Ill., Petersen comes from a huge extended clan -- he has 110 first cousins -- that still meets for family reunions where he's now the most photographed relative. He discovered acting while attending Idaho State University on a football scholarship and went on to co-found Chicago's Remains Theatre Ensemble. His TV movie roles have included John F. Kennedy (HBO's The Rat Pack) and his father, Joseph Kennedy Sr. (ABC's The Kennedys of Massachusetts). His dream role? "I want to get a black wig and play Rose Kennedy," he quips.

For now, though, he remains fascinated by "CSI". In one wordless scene that lasted nearly three minutes, his character cleaned a dead body. "We want to show the process, the attention and respect a body receives" from criminalists, says "CSI" producer Danny Cannon.

Petersen recently testified before the U.S. Senate to seek more funding for crime labs. To prove someone is guilty, "eyewitnesses and confession don't work anymore," he says. "In court, lawyers turn it all around. Criminalists are the only guys who can prove you're guilty." But crime labs need resources. He points to the O.J. Simpson case as a "complete disaster" in which lawyers outmaneuvered criminalists.

Real criminalists enjoy the attention "CSI" gives them, although they notice dramatic embellishments. "We do in 44 minutes what may take them 44 months to do," Petersen admits. His character is modeled after Daniel Holstein, a crime-scene analyst in Las Vegas. Holstein says Petersen "asks very pertinent questions" about the science of crime work. But does the actor have the tough stomach the job requires? "Using a mannequin or live person [on a TV soundstage] is different than actually being with a dead body," Holstein says.

While filming autopsy scenes, "I'll tell Billy, 'This would smell bad. You have to react,' " says Elizabeth Devine, a veteran Los Angeles criminalist who is now the show's technical adviser. Petersen at first assumed his character had smelled so many decomposing bodies he would be unmoved. "It doesn't matter," Devine explains. "You still react. There's no way not to react."

No matter how Petersen performs in the crime lab, he remains one of television's sexiest men, Devine says. "He has that aging-ballplayer look that women love."

Divorced, with a 26-year-old daughter, Petersen plans to marry Gina Cirone, a biology teacher he has dated for eight years. "I'm now the pre-eminent scientist in America," he jokes, "and she knows I don't have a clue about the stuff she teaches high school freshmen."

CLUES ABOUT "CSI"

Why Gil Grissom? Petersen's character was to be named Gil Scheinbaum. He changed the name because of his affinity for astronaut Gus Grissom and the alliteration. "His job is grisly, gruesome."

The theme song: "Who Are You" by the Who. Petersen says that after Pete Townshend saw the pilot and "dug it," he gave his OK to use the song.

The Las Vegas locale: It's the perfect setting, Petersen says, "because Vegas is much more sordid than it was 20 years ago. Since it tried to become Disneyland, everyone is indulging, even 12-year-olds and grandparents."

Weird fan mail: "I get a lot of stuff from Germany -- stuffed bugs and tarantulas."