Case Closed

By Jeanne Dorin McDowell
Emmy – Issue 6, 2011

Nothing makes a television actor happier than a great role — and a long-lasting one. Marg Helgenberger has scored big on both counts. Since the October 2000 debut of CBS’s mega-hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, she’s played Catherine Willows, a former exotic dancer–turned–ace forensics investigator. To date she’s appeared in all but four episodes of the Vegas-set show.

But as CSI rolls through its twelfth year, Willows (and Helgenberger) will be bidding us adieu mid-season, although the circumstances surrounding her exit are a closely held secret.

“Marg brought sexiness, street smarts, life experience and an understanding of human nature to her job as a CSI,” observes executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. “She is wide open as an actress, empathetic, giving and vulnerable when she needs to be. But when she needs to be tough as nails, you better duck for cover. Marg can do it all.”

Helgenberger recalls that when she first read the pilot script for CSI, she knew it was going to be a huge hit. In Willows she saw a feisty and passionate woman, “good at what she did and confident in the role she was in,” says the actress.

Over the years, the character has evolved. “In the beginning Catherine acted more on impulse,” Helgenberger says. “But these days, especially since she spent three seasons being the supervisor, she has learned how to listen and thoroughly understand a situation. She’s a lot wiser, more mature and relaxed, just as I am.”

The actress admits to mixed feelings about leaving the blockbuster TV franchise — while Miami and New York spinoffs stay strong, the original CSI remains the world’s most-watched drama series with more than 65 million viewers. But, she concedes, she is ready for a change — theater, perhaps, or more movies.

“I’m itching to do something else,” says Helgenberger, who was twice nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and twice for a Golden Globe for her role.     ♦