How do you fill the shoes of Gil Grissom on the long running and hugely popular forensic investigative series CSI? Well, the simple answer is that you can't. You have to start over with a completely new character. When actor William Petersen announced he'd be leaving CSI at the end of the current season, the news sent a shockwave through the fan community and kick started speculation on who could possibly step into the lead role after Petersen's legacy.

The answer... Laurence Fishburne. Shortly after making the official announcement that Fishburne had joined the cast of CSI, that same afternoon we dialed in to the press conference call to hear what the respected veteran actor had to say about making the jump to series television on the heels of his stage interpretation of late Supreme Court Judge, Thurgood Marshall.

Laurence Fishburne on whether he’s a CSI fan:

"I am now. To be perfectly frank, I said to Naren [Shankar] and Carol [Mendelsohn] when we met here in New York that I felt a little stupid and embarrassed that I hadn’t watched the show prior to having a meeting with them. But I’m happy to say that the episodes they sent me to look at were really engaging and really wonderful and kind of dark and moody, like a lot of the work I’ve actually been involved in. I thought, "Wow, that’s cool. Wow, this will work." So I’m very excited.

Fishburne on why he wanted to step away from film and go into television and whether he worked in series television before:

"Not since the mid-to-late 80s with a wonderful CBS show called Pee Wee’s Playhouse, where I played the psychedelic cowboy, Curtis. I wouldn’t say that my going into a weekly television series is actually stepping away from anything. It’s another medium in which to work as an actor. In fact, because I haven’t done series television since Pee Wee’s Playhouse, it’s a welcome change. It’s going to be challenging. It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be exciting."

On playing a character who has the same genetic makeup as most serial killers:

"[laughs] Well, let me just say that I have no knowledge of such a biological profile nor would I be at liberty to speak about such a biological profile if in fact such a biological profile should exist. I don’t know. I’m just really excited that I’m going to be joining this team and we have a lot of stuff to work out, a lot of questions. Our last question was, what is this character’s name? [laughs] So we have a lot of stuff to kind of flesh out and we’ve only had an opportunity to sit down with each other face to face one time. I think over the next coming weeks we’ll get cracking and really discover what the answers to those questions are. I mean, all of this is discovery for everyone involved. Brining new characters into such an established piece as CSI requires, I think, a lot of thought and consideration. You have to consider not just the folks who work on the show, but the audience and a number of things. So it’s a great question and I wish I had a great answer for you, but I’m sorry that’s the best I can do."

On how he thinks the collaboration is going to work out:

"Well, I think it’s going to work really well. When we sat down and met, it was really clear that that’s sort of the spirit we all like to work in. When Naren and Carol sat sown and talked to me about working with William Peterson from the outset, they approach it in a sort of theatrical style if you will. And it’s really going to be about throwing things in the pot and picking the best of everything and distilling things down until we have something that really represents the tone of the show in the best possible way."

Fishburne on playing a lead role in a #1 rated prime time show as a black man:

"I have to really sort my feelings out about it, because this is the first time anybody’s mentioned it to me. So you’re going to have to let me sort that out myself.

Fishburne on the fast pace of doing a weekly TV series:

"I’m actually looking forward to it. I just finished a one man show on Broadway, which has been 145 performances in five months or six months or something and that’s good training for what I’m about to enter into with respect to the speed at which you have to work when you’re doing network series television. You know it’s not unlike being in a wreck company. I think I’m very well prepared to enter into this and again, because the character is so different from anything I’ve ever done I’m looking forward to that too, that’s a challenge.