See Also: 'Grounds for Deception' Episode Guide

Playing a forensic scientist on CSI: New York is all about entertainment for Melina Kanakaredes (Stella Bonasera), but she never travels far from her Greek roots.

Kanakaredes said New York takes liberties with the realities of being a crime scene investigator, but the exposure can still benefit the profession. "I call it entertainment," the actress told Hollywood Chicago. "Can a crime be solved in 43 minutes? Absolutely not." She added, "That being said, when a woman plays the role of a forensic detective and that year the enrollment for young women in the sciences and forensics goes up over fifty percent, then I know I've done something really cool."

The actress recently added a "fresh perspective" to the New York episode "Grounds for Deception", and she added a writing credit to her resume in the process. "[G]iving an actor the opportunity to write an episode is pretty amazing and I got that opportunity last season," Kanakaredes said. "Although I've been doing the show as an actor and have directed before, writing was an incredibly new experience. And it gave me the chance to put in a little Greek flair, I put in a weapon buried in Alexander the Great's hidden tomb."

That Greek flair was a nod to Kanakaredes' heritage. "I was born in a family that came from Greece and the history is so amazingly rich," she explained, and family is the key word for the actress. "I think a foundation of family is what is most important," she said. "You can go off and do anything you desire, and you can fall, but there is always twenty hands to catch you. In my life, there is also twenty legs to kick me in the butt if I become all high and mighty (laughs). It's a grounding force of love."

The original interview is from Hollywood Chicago.

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