With steely determination, Emily
Procter's Calleigh Duquesne studies the
bullet removed from a victim's body at the
CSI: Miami crime lab. Calleigh's in search of
answers and won't stop until she fi nds them.
Although the scene was fi lmed not in
Miami, but rather on the show's extensive
interior set at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan
Beach, Calif., Procter is found another
day in a more glamorous setting-a photo
shoot at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons
hotel, a few miles away. Outside, and
bedecked in full Hollywood allure, Procter
is posed exiting the hotel's Rolls Royce,
holding a beautiful 8-month-old Great Dane
named Bogart on a leash. Well-behaved
for most of the shoot, the pup suddenly
decides a visit with the photographer a
few feet away is in order-and it is now
the petite Procter who is being taken
for a walk.
Hardly the stoic crime scene investigator
type, she laughs off the pooch's move,
giving Bogart a smooch and plenty of
attention. The woman with the warm
smile on the other end of the leash is the
Real McCoy-a humble Southern belle
who would rather learn about her interviewer
than talk about herself.
THE BEGINNINGS
Though CSI: Miami is now fi nishing its fifth
season, Procter-who has also appeared
in The West Wing and Friends and fi lms,
including Jerry Maguire and Leaving Las
Vegas-got her start in television in a different
role. "I did 6 and 11 p.m. weekend
weather at the local CBS affi liate," she says.
A native of Raleigh, N.C., Procter studied
journalism in college, working at the
station while still in school, eventually
graduating to covering breaking news like
murders. "I was low man on the totem
pole. It was very gruesome, and I remember
having to cover a murder right around
Christmas, and I just thought, 'I can't do it.'
It was not the right subject matter for me.
Snow leopard spotted gown, $8,500, by Escada Couture, 800-869-8424, escada.com
Kate belted mini-dress in citron, $1,655, by Rachel Roy, 248-258-0212, tenderbirmingham.com. White patent “Strike” sling, $690, by Salvatore Ferragamo, 212-759-3822. L’Elegance gold metal bracelet with engraving, $385, by Chanel, 800-550-0005, chanel.com. Colvmbvs Collection earrings, $1,495, by Charriol, 949-720-9300, charriol.com.
But, lo and behold, here I am on a daily
basis with subject matter far more grim."
To study for her role as ballistics expert
Calleigh, Procter trained with the Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Department as
well as spending time with her subjects at
the Miami-Dade County CSI unit and the
technical advisors for the series. "I spent
a lot of time picking the brains of the
police offi cers whom I was going to be
working with," she explains. "I asked
them about their lives and how their work
affected their personal lives."
It was important for Procter to learn
how it felt to be a woman offi cer in that
role, and to her surprise, she found plenty
of them at work at Miami's real CSI. "There
are a lot of women there. And Miami is the
only CSI offi ce that requires its offi cers to
graduate from the Police Academy, which
is why they sort of cross over with a lot
of interrogation as well as being at a crime
scene or carrying a gun." And, believe it
or not, there are plenty of gorgeous people
-just like on the show-working in the
venue. "People would be shocked! The fi rst
time I met the women there, I thought, 'This
is a bunch of schoolteachers out on vacation.'
Just very feminine and very soft. I
remember one of them chimed in, in a high,
feminine voice, 'My name is so-and-so, and
I do the dopers!'"
Procter learned something even more
signifi cant from working with the real
offi cers. "I've really become aware of the
incredible sacrifi ce made by the people who
do the job," she says. "I don't think it's something
the general public has any concept of.
It's a loss of innocence for them, it's a loss
of freedom. Once you become aware of how
things happen, the world looks so different."
A visit to a real CSI lab left a considerable
impression-particularly when it came
to seeing evidence from crimes relating to
children, such as shoes and other artifacts.
"They say you never get over those. The
children are always very hard to process,"
Procter says. And doing so can take its toll
on the offi cers. "Some of the people that I
work with don't have children, because, as
they've said, 'Once you've seen what we've
seen, it becomes very hard to think about
having a child now.'" THE BEAUTY AND THE DECEASED
Procter's character, Calleigh, apparently
has learned to shut out the horrors of
her work by sticking close to business-
something that can be both a pro and a
con. "She's completely dedicated to doing
her job well-she never compromises.
She has a real integrity," Procter explains.
"But she probably doesn't know herself
very well. You never see her making a lot
of personal choices. I don't think she has
any personal choices. She just stays in
the lab and puts two and two together."
Her matter-of-fact character has led
Procter to another team comparison.
"You know, CSI is really just Scooby Doo,"
she jokes. "Without a doubt, I'm Velma.
'Everyone get in the van! We gotta go! Quit
fooling around!' And Horatio [David Caruso]
is Fred. And Alexx [Khandi Alexander] is
Daphne-she even wore the head scarf!"
However, many CSI: Miami fans would
argue that Calleigh is a bit more glamorous
than the spectacled Velma.
"Emily Procter is very smart, very
attractive and deceptively intuitive about
her character," says CBS Entertainment
President Nina Tassler. "She's so striking,
she's so gorgeous-how could she be as
strong as she is? She's deceptively strong.
She's the Steel Magnolia. She's got that
quality, and she brings that to Calleigh. So I think she really is a breath of fresh air. But she also can be lethal." Despite her classic beauty, the character hasn't had much success in the relationship department-dashing fans' hopes that perhaps she'll be hooking up with lead investigator Horatio. But earlier this year that appeared to change, with some amorous
sparks fl ying between Calleigh and fellow investigator Eric Delko (Adam Rodriguez). "It's nice to have some romance to play, but at the same time, when you've spent that amount of hours with someone every week for five years, it's ... it's not romantic! We'll do a scene, and we have to turn around and ask people, 'Do y'all think that's sexy? Did that look sexy?'"
A stroll with Procter around the set of
CSI: Miami takes a while: She knows everyone
from the director to the electricians by
name, stopping to chat about everything
from work to babies to a favorite e-mail
sent by the makeup artist. "There are no
prima donnas on this show. Everyone has
different personalities, everyone has good
points and bad points, but you will never
hear of pettiness on our set. It just isn't
allowed." She's also proud of the portrayal
of smart people as ... smart people. "One of
the things I like most about the show is that
it comes from the standpoint that solving
the crime is cool, as opposed to committing
it. 'Knowledge is power' is the thread that
runs through all of the CSI shows."
DOWNTIME
Although most of the series is filmed in the Los Angeles area (the Long Beach and Marina del Rey areas of the region typically
pull duty for Miami), the cast does spend
several weeks a year shooting portions of
episodes that can only be fi lmed in the
real location, and the fun-loving Procter
makes sure to enjoy. "The great thing about shooting in
Miami is that they need to shoot in the
high sun, so they're only shooting during
daylight hours." That provides plenty of
time to do the things she loves, including
swimming and running-and playing
with dolphins (no, not the football players).
"There's a place where I swim with the
dolphins, and [the trainers] actually said
I could come and be an intern there one
summer. Unfortunately, my agents and managers
have much different plans for me!"
Procter also entertains while in Miami,
taking in visits from her dad, who just
turned 75 in March. Ever the Southerner,
Procter still enjoys the closeness of family
and friends back home, flying back
once a month during production time for
visits with her mother. "We go antiquing a
lot, and we always do pedicures together-
that's our thing. And we sit around and
talk. Talk and eat." The actor in the family
isn't so much the cook at home, preferring
to do the dishes. "After I cook, I'm not hungry.
And I like to eat too much to cook. So
I'd rather wash."
She stays close with the friends back
home, as well, spending time with groups
of people who've known her her whole
life, none of whom notice they have a TV
star on their hands. "They don't care-I get
absolutely no slack!" Far different from
her life in L.A., where developing relationships
can be a challenge. "Los Angeles is
so insular, if for no other reason than the
traffi c. You spend a lot of time alone in
your car, and everybody's got their own
schedule. It's always more than they can
accomplish, because it takes two hours
to get everywhere.
Oneshoulder
gown, price
available upon request,
by Escada Vintage
Couture: escada.com.
Tenue shoes, $750, by
Christian Louboutin:
christianlouboutin.fr.
Princess Collection
ring, $2,595; Signature
Collection earrings,
$1,750; by Charriol:
charriol.com.
The rest of Procter's time off is spent
doing whatever she can that she's never
tried before, it seems. "People are always,
like, 'She'll never do that.' But I do! And I
love it." One such challenge led to learning
to drive race cars, so that she could participate
in the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach,
Calif., which took place this past April.
She also loves to travel and eat different
kinds of foods, though L.A. hasn't been able
to satisfy her craving for great Mexican
food, despite its availability throughout
the Southern California region. "I was in
Mexico City when I was in high school,
so, in all honesty, if I want good Mexican
food, that's where I go to get it."
Procter can also be found on occasion
fronting her own band, White Lightning.
Well, actually it's a character of hers, Britney
Wednesday, that's seen leading the group.
"Britney's the ultimate narcissist," she says.
"She sings songs, tells relationship stories
about people she went to high school
with, using power ballads and self-help
book terminology, to sort of fi gure out
where they went awry."
As for Calleigh, she remains on the job
at CSI: Miami, dedicated as ever. And there's
a reason. "Calleigh's a lot tougher than she
was in season 1," Procter says. "I imagine
if something had happened to someone you
loved, not knowing would be terrible. The
more answers you can give people, the
more you can put an end to their suffering.
There'll never be an answer to 'Why did
this happen?' or 'Why did someone do
this?'" she says. "But at least there can be
an answer to 'How did it happen?' or 'Who
did it?' And I think where Calleigh comes
from is, 'I just want you to tell me the truth.
I just want the truth so I can put it to rest. It's just a search for the truth."
Ivory gown,
price available upon request,
by Douglas Anderson,
Private Collection. Princess
Collection ring, $2,595,
by Charriol charriol.com. Opera-length
organic man-made pearls
necklace, $395, by Majorica,
available at Saks Fifth Avenue.
|
