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American Morning

The Cowboy of 'C.S.I.'

Aired May 23, 2001 - 10:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a battle for the networks' ratings crown tops the "Showbiz Today Report" this morning.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Okwu handling that for us from New York -- hi, Michael.

HARRIS: Good morning, Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys. Good morning, everyone.

In the final days of May sweeps, it looks like CBS may survive the neck-and-neck battle with ABC thanks to "Survivor" and "C.S.I." According to the Nielsen ratings, "C.S.I.," the one-hour drama about crime scene investigators, was the top new show this season on any network.

Lori Blackman investigated one of the cast members for our "Showbiz Today Reports" "Star of Tomorrow."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "C.S.I.")

GEORGE EADS, ACTOR: You want to give me the skinny on this meeting of yours? I'm on my way back to the crime scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LORI BLACKMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nick Stokes, the cowboy...

EADS: The cowboy.

BLACKMAN: ... on "C.S.I." -- George Eads.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKMAN: How do you see him? Do you think he is a cowboy?

EADS: How do I see him? Well, it's interesting. We've had different meetings about where we want to go with each character on the show. We don't want "C.S.I." to become this soap opera that we dive into the character's lives and it becomes about them and the way their hair blew-dry out in the morning. We want to make sure it's about forensics and make sure it's about solving cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "C.S.I.")

EADS: Percussive control.

WILLIAM L. PETERSEN, ACTOR: He choked her unconscious and then brought her to multiple times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKMAN: Now, how much do you know actually about the forensics profession? How many terms on the show do you actually know the meaning of?

EADS: See, this is the point in the interview where I actually start lying and tell you how smart I am, that I yoga and surf and know karate. But I won't go there.

No, I was not real good in chemistry class.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "C.S.I.")

EADS: Hey! Get out of there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKMAN: You came out to L.A. after your first audition, which was on "Walker, Texas Ranger" or something.

EADS: Yes.

BLACKMAN: A one-line gig that you didn't get.

EADS: That was a big deal. I'll break that one down for you. Here is how it went. It was one line. And the casting director said, "OK, George, you can use the whole room." For what, I don't know. But here it was. You ready?

"Walker, you've got to take a look at this." And cut.

BLACKMAN: Oh, that was fabulous. And you didn't get cast?

EADS: Thank you very much. And I didn't get the part.

It seemed to me when I was really struggling for a while in Hollywood, that Hollywood was this big playground with an 8-foot, 12- foot-high brick wall around it. You could hear them having a great time in there; you just weren't allowed to come in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "C.S.I.")

EADS: Blood spatter on northwest wall, blood sprays northeast corner above.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKMAN: What was the most challenging part of the last year for you?

EADS: I don't know. A challenge? Getting up at 6:30 in the morning to go act. It's no fun acting that early in the morning or acting at 4:00 in the middle of the night at 4:00 in the morning, when you're really tired. That's a challenge.

BLACKMAN: Yes, success is a double-edged sword, isn't it?

EADS: But a luxurious problem to have.

BLACKMAN (voice-over): Lori Blackman, CNN Entertainment News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKWU: That's all the entertainment news for now. Join us in one hour when "Showbiz Today Reports" on The Go-Gos. They've just released their first studio album in more than 15 years. We'll see if they still have the beat. That's at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.

I'm Michael Okwu in New York.

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