William Petersen Quotations

The beard is here because I got tired of shaving and Grissom, subsequently, got tired of shaving. Grissom, like any other 50-year-old man, is going through a series of mid-life changes. Who knows, he may start drinking.

Sure, I always chose rebels to identify with - I still do - but to me a rebel isn't so much someone who breaks the law as someone who goes against the odds.

If I stayed a football player, my career would have been over 20 years ago. As it is, my knees are shot. I found I got the same good feeling in acting that I had in sports, but I found I could have a more profound impact on people.

I had panic attacks during rehearsal. There were times when I really thought I wasn't going to be able to do it.

Basically, we are a whole world of people desperately trying to figure out what is the dark side of our natures and how much can we explore without becoming something else.

Grissom comes from a place where we know he had a deaf mother, he was raised in a silent household, on some level, had a father who potentially was not around and he learned what he knew by himself in the back yard, with bugs and animals. He's not comfortable being a supervisor and that's his problem.

Now I'm seen by more people in one episode than I was in 20 years of theatre and movies. It's gratifying to have an impact on 25 million people a night, but I can say goodbye to my lunch-pail life as a working actor. I'm scared I might be a celebrity.

Grissom is a character who doesn't really want people poking around in his life. He likes to poke around in his work.

One of the things I love about theater, one of the reasons I'll never give it up, is that it's fifty percent the audience's responsibility.

I didn't want to play a lawyer. I didn't want to play a doctor. I didn't want to play a single dad. I wanted to do something I felt I could learn from, something that would be a challenge and something that would not dry up.

I think you can find yourself on one of these shows for a long period of time and think that all you'll ever be able to do is that character. Certainly people think of you that way.

I've never been in this business for the recognition or the awards. I just want to do good work, grab a decent paycheck, and move onto the next job.

When we get involved in the ratings, then we're doing the network's job. We need to focus on our work.

I was horrible at science and math. I couldn't pass a test to save my life! I'm surprised that it didn't take me until I was 20 to graduate. That's why my role is so cool - Grissom is the complete opposite of me.

The show can go on without me, and probably will, but I want to come back to act in Chicago. My wife and I just bought a condo downtown, and I want to do theater.

Corporate Hollywood thinks I'm a geek to go back and do theater. They don't understand why I don't want to be a movie star, why I'm not pursuing Mel Gibson's roles.

I want to live and work in Chicago for the rest of my life. You know when you were growing up and you wanted to become president? What I want now is to be mayor of this damned town in ten years.

I won't miss Grissom. It was a complete life for me that's reached its end, and it's reached it in the right way, I think. So I won't miss Grissom. And I hope that the audience won't miss him either.

I've been telling anybody who would listen that I wanted to do a series for the last 10 years. But I wouldn't do it if I was just another cop pushing bad guys up against the wall.

If I could change on thing about myself, I would: Have better knees. Mine are shot because of injuries. You're only as good as your legs, whether you're an athlete or an actor.

Theater in Chicago will always be my first love. It started careers for me and about 50 of my friends. We all love coming back. As soon as the TV show is over, I'll be back in Chicago, doing live theater.

We knew all along we were making a good show, so its success was not a surprise to me. What has surprised me is the magnitude of this show's success. More people see me now in one episode than saw me in 20 years of movies and theater!

We're getting to the age when we're starting to see that responsibility isn't such a bad thing, when we see maturity as the key to sustenance.

Maybe they know my name, maybe they don't, but we're going to get that damned play on, even if I have to hit a liquor store.

I'd lulled myself into the insularity of competence. I'd forgotten that, to do good work as an actor, you have to keep alive that part of yourself that's rebellious, that's an outlaw, that's... that's stark, raving crazy.

We thought we would have a niche audience of loyal viewers like 'X-Files' or 'West Wing.' But we have a huge audience that crosses all kinds of boundaries. It's unique. It's bizarre.

Grissom is pretty asexual. He's not that interested in anything other than work - except for Lady Heather. She's the closest to getting his heart of anyone.

I wonder how many women would want to wallow around in maggot farms at night, ... because that's really all Grissom could give them. Women think, 'Boy, could I make improvements on this guy,' and of course Grissom is scared to death of any improvements being made.

Unfortunately, for many lawyers, judges and prosecutors, people expect to see CSI in the courtroom. They can't always provide that. Not every case is all about DNA.

Unfortunately, for many lawyers, judges and prosecutors, people expect to see 'CSI' in the courtroom. They can't always provide that. Not every case is all about DNA.

I snuck into Bonnie and Clyde as a kid. I was underage. I wasn't supposed to be there. It's unbelievable to work with her. I'm just watching saying this is fabulous, look how good she is.

The name change isn't for those of us here in New England. The name change is for those folks entering the region.

That's how television works, you find something that hits and you mass produce it. I understand that. I just didn't want to do it myself.

It's just two pieces of paper, ... I don't know what the big deal is.

On CBS, as long as I stay younger than Mike Wallace and Dan Rather, I'm OK.

It's really about the evidence. It's about making sure that the toothpick gets its close-up.

The (conservatives) are seeking a more binding type of communion, one that is more doctrinal,

I have to say, I'm an Illinois resident, ... But when I was a child, as we crossed the state line, we always felt the air was better up here.

I assume that part of it is due to the quality of the show and the characters and their chemistry. People like the way it twists and turns on itself. Each week is a puzzle, a really well-done puzzle.

The culture had just been through this postmodern period of green tea and Buddhism, with everybody asking the big questions. People were lost. These guys had answers. You see a close-up of a broken toenail inside a shoe, and that becomes an important clue. Instead of the big things, it's about the littlest things. And they become the most important things. It's a new way of perceiving, and I think that spiritual aspect of the show is why people keep watching.

There’s no greater search than that of lost love.

Grissom is pretty asexual. He's not that interested in anything other than work - except for Lady Heather. She's the closest to getting his heart of anyone.

A smart person is not one that knows the answers, but one who knows where to find them...

Writing is a vessel...with readers the ocean and authors as its sails...

I get a lot of stuff from Germany - stuffed bugs and tarantulas.

I can't figure out how they decide on those things. So I don't have any regrets about anything that I did that didn't get a lot of people to see it.

I do the work just because I enjoy it on the day, working with the guys. For me, it's like going to play a game of baseball: you've got your teammates, you get to do something that's fun, hopefully, and whatever happens with that stuff is in the cosmos someplace.

I know a lot of actors who've just gotten bitter because they did something and then nobody ever saw it or whatever.

Theater in Chicago will always be my first love.