HOLLYWOOD — As a devoted fan of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” Laurence Fishburne feels sorry for the act that has to follow William Petersen, the face of the long-running hit CBS show.
“I’m very much invested in ‘The Bug Man,’ ” Fishburne said of his affection for Petersen’s Gil Grissom, an entomologist who heads up the CSI investigative team but who is leaving. “I don’t know how I’m going to feel when the new guy shows up.”
By the way, the “new guy” is Fishburne.
The square-jawed actor, whose authoritative voice and distinctive features have made him a formidable force on the big screen (“The Matrix” franchise and his Oscar-nominated performance as Ike Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do With It”) and the small screen (“Miss Evers’ Boys”) and stage (a 1992 Tony Award in “Two Trains Running”) for almost three decades is joining the cast of the top-rated “CSI” as criminal pathologist Dr. Raymond Langston.
Fishburne said he’s energized by his new project, adding that hooking on to a hit TV drama while he’s still active in film and theater makes sense at this point in his career.
“I’ve tried to approach this with an open mind and a great deal of humility, as well,” said Fishburne. “And I’m not fooling myself — I am filling the shoes of a man who is irreplaceable.”
And although work has been pretty regular since his first notable role, as the beanpole-thin soldier in 1979’s “Apocalypse Now,” he said the weekly schedule of “CSI” will allow him to spend more time with his family — wife Gina Torres (“24,” “Alias”) and their 18-month-old daughter.
The transition to television has been smooth.
“The good news is that in the last six weeks, the focus has really been on Billy. So that has let me just quietly observe, showing up for work and trying to integrate myself as harmoniously as possible.”
He’s also figuring out his new character. “It’s a continual process. All I know is that I bring a certain gravity and weight to the series, and the writers and producers have carefully constructed a character that allows me to play to my strengths.”
Fishburne, who has a contract to stay with the show for 1 1/2 seasons, receives an entrance worthy of a star. When Dr. Langston is first seen, he’s in the shadows, preparing to conduct a class that will feature an interview via satellite with a serial killer (Bill Irwin). Grissom sneaks into the lecture. As he begins, a light illuminates Fishburne’s face.
Co-executive producer Carol Mendelsohn said Fishburne’s introduction was carefully mapped out.
“A tremendous amount of thought went into that,” she says. We wanted our audience to have the same kind of anticipation of this guy that Grissom has. He’s a man of magnetism and power who is leading the class into a very dark place.”
