GUEST ACTORS
Check out the the original Ultimate CSI Cast Index
Gary Sinise as Detective Mac Taylor
Gary attended high school in Highland Park, where he played in bands. As a lark, he and some friends tried out for the school production of West Side Story, which hooked Sinise on an acting career. He made his professional acting debut at the age of 17 in a 1973 production of The Physicist. When he graduated in 1974 from Highland Park High School, Sinise and some high school friends soon founded the now famous Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which moved into the basement of the Immaculate Conception School and Church in Highland Park. In 1980, the growing company moved to Chicago, and in 1991, Steppenwolf opened its own complex.
It didn't take long for Gary's career to head west to Hollywood, where he acted in shows such as General Hospital and Knots Landing, but soon returned to Chicago and the stage, where he earned critical acclaim for his staging of Sam Shepard's True West. He returned to Hollywood, and began directing episodic television, such as thirtysomething and Crime Story.
Sinise went back and forth between Hollywood and the Chicago stage, where he made his film directorial debut with the 1988 movie Miles from Home, and earned a Tony nomination for his Broadway appearance in The Grapes of Wrath.
It was film work, however, that brought Sinise into the public eye. He starred in the successful Stephen King miniseries The Stand, and was seen around the world in the highly acclaimed film Forrest Gump, which earned him many awards as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. More film work followed … in Tom Hank's Apollo 13; in the biopic Truman; the sci-fi thriller Mission to Mars, to name a few.
As well as being active in the entertainment field, Gary Sinise also uses his considerable talents to support troops stationed overseas. Along with his Lt. Dan Band (named for his character from Forrest Gump), Sinise has embarked on numerous USO/Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) tours. In February 2004, he entertained troops in Diego Garcia, Singapore and Korea. Last year, Sinise went to tours in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, Italy and Fort Stewart, Ga. He has also traveled to both Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the National Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to visit troops wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has recently co-founded Operation Iraqi Children with Seabiscuit: An American Legend author Laura Hillenbrand, an effort to help educate Iraqi children.
Gary's credits are extensive, spanning over two decades, and involve both acting and directing. Besides being a co-founder of the Steppenwolf Theatre, he was also the Artistic Director from 1980-82 and 1985-86.
His stage credits include: (Acting) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Grapes of Wrath, The Caretaker,True West, Streamers, , Loose Ends, Of Mice and Men, Balm in Gilead, The Collection, The Caretaker, The 5th of July, Sandbar Flatland, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Mack, Anything Goes Over the Rainbow, The Indian Wants the Bronx, The Sea Horse. (Directing) Buried Child, Road to Nirvana, Frank's Wild Years, Orphans, Tracers, The Miss Firecracker Contest, True West, Waiting for the Parade, Action.
His film credits include: (Acting) The Big Bounce, The Human Stain, A Gentleman's Game, Imposter, Mission to Mars, Reindeer Games, The Green Mile, It's the Rage, Bruno, Snake Eyes, Ransom, Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, Of Mice and Men. (Directing) Of Mice and Men, Miles From Home.
His television credits include: Fallen Angel, That Championship Season, George Wallace, Truman, The Stand, General Hospital, Knot's Landing. (Directing) Crime Story, China Beach, Thirtysomething.
His producer credits range from Imposter, That Championship Season (TV), to Of Mice and Men (TV).
He has won numerous awards: Golden Globe (Truman), Tony Award nomination (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Grapes of Wrath), Screen Actors Guild Award, Emmy Award and Cable ACE Award (George Wallace and Truman), National Board of Review Award (Forrest Gump), Academy Award nomination (Forrest Gump).
Melina Kanakaredes as Detective Stella Bonasera
Melina Kanakaredes (pronounced Kah-nah-KAH-ree-deez) is the the youngest of three daughters of an insurance salesman and homemaker. Melina grew up in Akron, Ohio, spending much of her time at the family's candy store, Temo's Chocolate Company. She attributes her zest for life and performing in part to her family; she's a second-generation Greek.
She began singing with her sisters at community events, and soon found her acting skills in demand at a nearby high school. As a teenager, she continued her involvement in dance and theatrical productions, working summers in New York with various companies. After graduating from high school, she attended Ohio State University, where she became first runner-up at the Miss Ohio Pageant. She then transferred to Point Park College. The school was affiliated with the Pittsburgh Playhouse, enabling her to appear in commercials, industrial films, and on stage at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Pittsburgh Public Theater. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater/acting from Point Park.
After graduation, she began her professional career in theater, performing in both classic and musical productions. She moved to New York City, landing her first off-Broadway appearance in the play State of the Art. During the weekends, she supported herself as a cocktail waitress. Soon thereafter, Melina was spotted by an agent from William Morris and won the role of Eleni Andros Cooper on the daytime soap opera The Guiding Light, earning her two Emmy nominations.
Melina soon moved to Los Angeles, with her first TV serise being the series New York News, about reporters. Alas, neither critics or viewers were warmed by it. She made a recurring appearance on NYPD Blue, then made her infamous (to fans) appearance as Victoria on Due South. She did a number of movies, then landed the role of Detective Libby Gallante in the ABC dramedy, Leaving L.A., about the rather busy Los Angeles coroner's office. To prepare herself for the role, she spent a few days as a coroner's trainee, which included going out on a grisly double homicide-suicide.
When Jill Hennessey left Law & Order in 1996, Melina was approached to replace her, but having "done a stint on a cop show" (NYPD Blue), Melina declined, and was later offered the starring role in Providence. And luck struck again, when the project ICE didn't move forward, she was available to do CSI: New York.
Melina's credits include Into the Fire, 15 Minutes, Rounders, Dangerous Beauty, The Long Kiss Goodbye. TV Credits include: Providence, Oz, Leaving L.A., NYPD Blue, New York News, The Guiding Light.
Melina currently resides in the San Fernando Valley with her husband, a professional chef. Both she and her husband are quite involved with their families and the Greek culture, and both speak Greek fluently. They travel as often as possible to Greece to visit friends and family. She enjoys working out, swimming, reading, and listening to James Taylor music. She's a fan of the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Indians.
You can read a more extensive biography of Melina at William & Elyse's Due South Site.
Vanessa Ferlito as CSI Aiden Burn
The 24-year-old actress was discovered six years ago, but for two years, ignored an agent who wanted to sign her up. However, after dropping out of college, she called back the agent and landed a role as a girlfriend on the hit HBO mob series, The Sopranos. Although she has portrayed Latino parts, Vanessa is Italian, and she is probably best known to television viewers as Claudia on the hit Fox drama 24. Many film devotees will recognize her from the movie On Line, a webcam film about the sexual underworld of New York City. The film centered around six people who intimately know other individuals, but only through webcams that watch them. Ferlito said of the acting experience, "I was looking onto a screen, I had to be intimate with the face on the screen. It was pretty bizarre."
Vanessa's screen credits include the Tommy Lee Jones movie Cheer Up, The Tollbooth, 25th Hour, Undefeated and On Line. She will also appear in Spider-Man 2 (due for release in 2004) in the role of Louise, Mary Jane's (Kirsten Dunst) best friend.
Carmine Giovinazzo as Detective Danny Messer
This 30-year old Staten Island, NY native goal was to become a professional baseball player. A scholarship got him into college, and soon he got an invite to practice with the Chicago Cubs, but a back injury permanently dashed those plans. Before his final semester in college, he visited his cousins Larry Romano (King of Queens) and director Buddy Giovinazzo. Buddy gave him a bit part in the movie No Way Home, which soon got him a talent agent. After appearing in Brighton Beach Memoirs and Golden Boy at the Seaview Playhouse, Carmine moved to Los Angeles and landed a guest role on the Buffy the vampire Slayer pilot. Carmine is known for his starring work in the short-lived UPN series, Shasta McNasty as well as the indie crime thriller The Learning Curve, the latter which he said he had a great time doing. He also guest starred in the third season CSI episode “Revenge is Best Served Cold.” He was in the 2003 Fall ABC pilot, Platonically Correct, with Tom Everett Scott. It did not get picked up, which no doubt led to his being available for CSI: New York casting agents.
In his spare time, Giovinazzo enjoys painting (some of which have been shown in galleries), poetry and playing the guitar. He also likes to play roller hockey, basketball and baseball. He was at one time romantically linked to actress Vanessa Marcil.
Carmine's screen credits include Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, Fallen Arches, The Learning Curve, Black Hawk Down, The Red Zone (aka Pledge of Allegiance) and the recently completed In Enemy Hands. His television credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Terror Tract, The Guardian and CSI.
Hill Harper as Coroner Dr. Sheldon Hawkes
Harper graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University, then graduated with a J.D. (cum laude) from Harvard Law School and obtained a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government. It was during his time at Brown, while he was playing football, that he looked for a class that met with his football schedule. He'd always loved acting, having performed in commercials at age 7, but never gave it a thought as career, until he took an acting class called “Voice for the Actor: Shakespeare.” “I just fell in love with it,” he said. His other interests were law and politics, hence his degrees, but he also became a full-time member of Boston's Black Folks Theater Company, which is called one of the nation's oldest and most respected African-American traveling theatre troupes. He's never practiced law, admitting “"Even when I was studying law, I was auditioning for plays."
He soon headed to Los Angeles, where he credits his turning point was when Spike Lee hired him for the movie Get on the Bus, which he felt was an important film, content-wise. That movie led to He Got Game, and Harper said in a Toronto Star interview “You know you're in good company when Spike wants to work with you more than once. He's the man who promoted the careers of Sam Jackson, Rosie Perez, Wesley Snipes and Rosario Dawson, just to name a few."
Harper got the role of FBI agent Darnell on the highly anticipated drama, The Handler, starring The Sopranos actor Joe Pantoliano. Although Harper thoroughly enjoyed the role, as he got to play different characters every week, along with different hairstyles and wardrobes, the ratings suffered in the late Friday slot, and the show was yanked from the schedule. The show's demise left the talented Harper with more opportunities, including garnering the role of the coroner on CSI: New York, a series which will no doubt enjoy good ratings and a long life.
Film credits include America Brown, Constellation, Love Sex and Eating the Bones, The Skulls, Loving Jezebel, The Nephew, In Too Deep, Get on the Bus, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, Steel, Hoover Park, Park Day, The Visit. Harper's starring TV roles include CBS' The Handler, The Court, Stephen Boccho's City of Angels, Live Shot, as well as guest shots on Soul Food, The Sopranos, The Twilight Zine (2002), Cosby, ER, NYPD Blue, Murder One, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Married… with Children, M.A.N.T.I.S., HBO's Lackawanna Blues. He also appeared in Showtime's Zooman and One Red Rose, which he co-wrote. Check the IMDB link above for more details. Harper's stage credits include the off-Broadway productions of Your Handsome Captain, Freeman and David Mamet's American Buffalo, as well as Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters at New York's Joseph Papp Public Theatre.
Harper's talents have not gone unnoticed or unrewarded. He received a 2004 Golden Satellite Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama for his role as rookie FBI agent Darnell in The Handler. He earned a Best Actor nomination from the IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards for his work in the gritty prison drama, The Visit. He received Best Supporting Actor from the NAACP Image Awards for his performance in the CBS series City of Angels. He was also awarded the prestigious Emerging Artist Award at 36th Chicago International Film Festival (October 2000) for his role in The Visit. He was also on Ebony's 2001 list of "The 29 Most Eligible Super Bachelors." He also received the John Garfield Award for Best Actor for his role in The Visit at the Method Fest 2000 Awards.
Harper is also an advocate of education, frequently speaking at public schools. He has also worked with the New York-based Village Foundation which offers a literacy program for African-American boys.
Eddie Cahill as Det. Don Flack
A New York native, 26-year-old Eddie Cahill began his acting career in high school theater productions, then honing his skills further at New York University. His big break was appearing in the play Gramercy Park is Closed to the Public, which was part of Vassar College's annual New York Stage and Film event. He soon landed the off-Broadway play, The Altruists, directed by David Warren in which he played Lance, the “Eternally sweet and simple” hustler. He said “getting the call [for the play] saying you got it and you're working was [great] -- even at $206.57 a week in New York City." A week after the play closed, Cahill guest-starred as Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) younger and bisexual boyfriend in the hit HBO series, Sex and the City. His talents soon won him a recurring role on NBC's Friends, playing Tag, an underqualified but extremely appealing candidate for the job as Rachel's assistant. Although Tag didn't get the job, Cahill moved on to Felicity, where he broke away from his nice guy image to play James, a “crazed drug dealer” in a three-episode recurring role.
More guest shot roles followed, including playing a male escort victimized by his boss in a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He soon won the lead role in the WB's Glory Days drama, where he played novelist Mike Dolan, who returns to his hometown after penning a novel 'loosely' based on the townsfolk and the bizarre events surrounding his father's demise. Although Glory Days had a short life, this left Cahill available to take on other roles, including that of Olympian Jim Craig, goalkeeper for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, in the Kurt Russell-toplined film, Miracle. For Cahill, it was “an opportunity to play one of my heroes,” and he pursued the role until he won the coveted slot.
Other information: In one article, he was asked whose career he'd most like to have: Edward Norton's, he replied. "He seems to be very self-aware. If you could combine his with the career of Peter Falk..." He also love to collaborate with Gena Rowlands, Kevin Spacey, and director Ang Lee. Cahill was chosen for E! Online's "Sizzlin' Sixteen" list as one of the brightest up-and-coming stars of the year (2001); his mother is Italian, his father is Irish; he has two sisters. While working on Glory Days, he divided his time between Los Angeles, Vancouver, and New York City, where he resided with his girlfriend (2002). He enjoys playing hockey and plays on the guitar.
Movie credits include Art School Confidential, Lords of Dogtown, and Miracle, where he made his film debut as hockey player Jim Craig. Television includes the short-lived WB series Glory Days, and guest appearances in Dawson's Creek, Haunted, Friends, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Charmed, Felicity, and Sex in the City.
Theatrical work includes Gramercy Park is Closed to the Public, The Trial (1997) ,and the 2000 off-Broadway production, The Altruists.
J. Grant Albrecht as the Head of DNA (recurring role)
While you may not know the face, you have probably his voice more times than you realize. Albrecht has been the voice of Walmart, Lego, Lexus, Epson computers, and much more, including the animated character “Leo the egg” on the Nickelodeon series Oswald. A 1988 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's acting conservatory, Albrecht has appeared on and off-Broadway as well as in several regional productions across the country. When a demyelinationg spinal cord condition left him reliant or a cane or wheelchair, he moved from New York City to Los Angeles, where he has acted in several television shows, and continues a successful career in voiceover work.
Albrecht's voice credits include Ominusha Buraiden, Spawn: Armaggedon, Call of Duty, Lionheart, Jungle Book 2, Emperor: Battle for Dune, James Bond 007: Nightfire, Sentou yousei yukikaze, Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira, Oswald, and Justice League.
Guest appearances on television include The Guardian, Malcolm in the Middle, Just Shoot Me, Any Day now, Touched by an Angel, Walker Texas Ranger and Law & Order.
Theatrical credits include The Devil's Disciple (1988), What the Butler Saw (1989)
He also narrated the Bret Easton Ellis audiobook The Informers (1994), published by Knopf.
If you visit this site, you can listen to several mp3 samples of Albrecht's work at this professional site.
Terry Kinney as District Attorney (recurring role)
No biography at present.
Stage work includes (as director) The Violet Hour; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (London, Broadway-Tony Award for Best Play Revival); A Streetcar Named Desire; A Clockwork Orange; My Thing of Love; Reckless; Streamers (Kennedy Center); Fool for Love; And a Nightingale Sang... (Off-Broadway); Of Mice and Men; The Lover, Off-Broadway: Beautiful Child; Eyes for Consuela; and Brilliant Traces.
As an actor, stage work includes Buried Child (Broadway); Another Time; The Grapes of Wrath (also Broadway, London, La Jolla); Orphans (Off-Broadway); Tracers; Cloud 9; A Prayer for My Daughter; The House; Loose Ends; Action; Savages; Balm in Gilead (Off-Broadway); Death of a Salesman; Waiting for Lefty; The Glass Menagerie; Exit the King; Sandbar Flatland; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Our Late Night; and The Indian Wants the Bronx.
Theatrical work includes The Game of Their Lives; Save the Last Dance; House of Mirth; Luminous Motion; The Young Girl and the Monsoon; Oxygen; Sleepers; Fly Away Home; The Firm; Devil in the Blue Dress; and No Mercy.
Television work includes The Laramie Project, Oz, That Championship Season, George Wallace, and ABC's Thirtysomething.
Kinney has won several awards: a Tony Award nomination (The Grapes of Wrath); Drama Desk Award nomination (And a Nightingale Sang...); Joseph Jefferson Award (And a Nightingale Sang...); and a Cable ACE nomination (Oz).
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