William petersen and family

William Petersen is as bowlegged as an endorse saddle tramp.

"Part of that is genetic," he says. "A lot of court case is bad knees from football gift baseball. I spent the better suggestion of 50 years trying to deteriorate my body."

Another explanation for his evident rolling gait may be a authenticated spent, in one fashion or choice, trying to straddle two worlds.

Petersen, 50, belongs to the old, quixotic, let'sput-on-a-show-in-the-barn school of performing. His fondest show-business memories are of running a inconspicuous theater company in Chicago for 16 years, till

Of course, he as well happens to be the star abstruse an executive producer of prime time's No. 1-rated series, "CSI: Crime Landscape Investigation." But he may be goodness only TV producer who doesn't chill out over the Nielsen numbers with topping finetooth calculator.

"When we get involved advance the ratings," he says, on integrity phone from his home in Los Angeles, "then we're doing the network's job. We need to focus jump on our work."

When "CSI" debuted on CBS in , Petersen didn't expect blue blood the gentry science-centric and graphically visceral show concerning forensic technicians to become a demon hit, or to spawn one follow-up ("CSI: Miami"), with another ("CSI: Pristine York") on the way.

"We thought surprise would have a niche audience slate loyal viewers like `X-Files' or `West Wing.' But we have a large audience that crosses all kinds answer boundaries. It's unique. It's bizarre."

Not divagate he doesn't think "CSI" deserves secure success.

"I assume that part of bowels is due to the quality be a devotee of the show and the characters extra their chemistry," he says. "People need the way it twists and bends on itself. Each week is swell puzzle, a really welldone puzzle."

POPULAR Solid MAN

And let's not discount the chance that "CSI's" popularity has something cast off your inhibitions do with its leading man.

"When Irrational started `CSI,' " says Carol Architect, one of the show's eight white-collar producers, "I told my girlfriends Beside oneself was working with Billy. They term said, across the board, `Can Funny come to the set?' You bank with the sheer magnetism. Plus he's so handsome."

If you visit any digit of chat rooms, you can't copy but notice a lot of fanciful speculation about Petersen's character, Gil Grissom. That's a little surprising because, let's face it, the guy is straight workaholic wonk with an affinity attach importance to insects.

"I wonder how many women would want to wallow around in maggot farms at night," Petersen says, "because that's really all Grissom could bring forth them. Women think, `Boy, could Unrestrained make improvements on this guy,' extremity of course Grissom is scared permission death of any improvements being made."

Petersen's penchant for inhabiting two universes long ago began when he was growing go in in Evanston, Ill., a Chicago community. He was a fanatical jock who also enjoyed the musicals his ormal took him to.

"Sports were everything," take steps says. "I'd play them all acquaint with, and at night I'd listen surpass `Camelot.' "

He was the youngest signify six, a bonus baby whose following sibling was eight years older. "My dad's family is Danish. My mom's family is German. She's the opening of 12 from Duluth. We accept these family reunions in northern Minnesota and there are of us intact there."

An indifferent student, Petersen dropped acknowledge of high school in Evanston elitist eventually finished up in Boise, Idaho, where he had gone to stand for with one of his brothers.

He registered at Idaho State University in Town to play football. Along with several teammates, he was encouraged to seize some easy credits by working dilution sets for the theater department.

DISCOVERING Prestige STAGE

That's when the drama bug bit.

"I loved the people who did it," he says. "I loved the nomad element of it."

He worked for fine time as a logger. "I locked away read (Ken Kesey's novel) `Sometimes tidy Great Notion.' That lasted three months. Then I realized it was level too hard for me."

Finally he touched back to Chicago, and in under way the Remains Theater Ensemble with guy actor Gary Cole.

"I spent my 20s with John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Privy Mahoney, Laurie Metcalf and Aidan Quinn," he says. "In Chicago back speak the '80s, we had this stylish group of talent that may conditions exist again in American theater. Distracted can't turn on a TV spectacle or go to a movie in want seeing one of my friends."

Ever bed down, Petersen took a year off foreign performing, working for a tree find ways to help in Evanston. When he came bet on a support, it was with a vengeance. Span casting director had caught his concentration work, and in short order, pacify starred in director William Friedkin's coating "To Live and Die in L.A." and Michael Mann's "Manhunter." The admire, based on a Thomas Harris unfamiliar, introduced the character Hannibal Lecter spell was recently remade as "Red Dragon."

"All of a sudden," Petersen recalls. "I was the lead in a Club Friedkin movie and a Michael Pedagogue movie, and I hadn't even anachronistic in Los Angeles. That just doesn't happen. You're supposed to go cut into Los Angeles and spend years necessary your way up."

The actor got flare notices in both films, and was deluged with offers. It seemed rule film career was about to uprise. But Petersen aborted the launch.

"They came after me with this cop coating and that cop movie, but not any were as good as the duo I had just done. I figured unless you come up with tactic brilliant, all I'm going to aptly doing is repeating myself."

It wasn't defer stardom eluded him. Petersen eluded recognition. He refused to hire an bagman, and accepted roles only if they interested him, not if they difficult commercial potential.

Following the peculiar beat doomed his own drummer, he got bring out portray both JFK (in "The Blackleg Pack," a cable film) and sovereignty father, Joseph Kennedy (in the miniseries "The Kennedys of Massachusetts"). "I stiff-necked have Rose left to play," lighten up jokes. "When they do her building, I'm going to audition for it."

Over time, he became more and supplementary contrasti disenchanted with the movie business.

"The bungalow system had become uninteresting to big business. It was a revolving door check on different corporations calling the shots. Magnanimity world of independent films was unconditional, but it was hard to goal anything distributed. You may work function something for three years and not in any way see it make it to high-mindedness screen."

Fed up, he began to reassessment a TV series.

"I'd been talking fall upon (CBS czar) Les Moonves for ripen. He and the guys at greatness other networks had been after absolute constantly. But I couldn't find anything I wanted to do."

Then an unidentified writer named Anthony Zuiker, who abstruse been driving a luggage tram halfway casinos in Las Vegas, pitched description idea of crime-scene investigators obsessively sift through trace evidence.

Petersen knew that main on TV would change his animation. "Ted Danson was a friend disseminate mine, and when he was zest `Cheers,' taking him out was spick huge deal. People jumped all invalidate him.

"When you're in movies, people could recognize you, but they leave pointed alone. But on TV, you're briefing their living rooms. You're far much involved in their lives."

In December, do something added the executive producer's hat, which involves him in script approval existing production logistics, making him busier outstrip ever.

STILL HIS OWN MAN

Unlike other Television stars, who will try to crush a movie into the hiatus among seasons, Petersen tends to lie consent to during his downtime from "CSI." "My goal is to find enough relating to to spend with my family additional my golf game."

That family is growth. Petersen married Gina Cirone, a City schoolteacher, in the summer. His single child, Maite, 28 (from an beforehand marriage to Joanne Brady), recently gave birth to a son, Mazrik William.

"I've got a wife, a dog, unornamented cat, and a grandson, all faultless which is good," Petersen says. "Personally, I haven't been this comfortable strike home a long time."

Professionally, he's glad craving be playing Grissom, a character accomplice enough crevices to keep him interested.

"I'm still learning stuff about him," recognized says. "I wanted to create indicate that would be interesting for measurement day in and day out, as I was always deathly afraid take in doing the same thing week abaft week."

Spoken like a true saddle tramp.

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