When Emily Procter was asked if she would like to join the cast of CSI: Miami, she waited with accepting the part until she had a chance to get the advice of her friend Jorja Fox -- Sara Sidle on the original CSI.

"Jorja and I have been friends for years since we did [the movie Forever Fabulous together," Procter told the Malaysian Star. "She was the first call I made when I was thinking about doing CSI. I call her Horha. And I said: ‘Horha, am I going to do CSI? She said: 'I think you will like it.'"

Fox and Procter both had recurring roles on NBC's The West Wing, although not at the same time. Procter greatly enjoyed playing Ainsley Hayes on the political drama, and after the first few episodes of CSI: Miami apparently was uncertain whether she'd made the right decision in leaving that show. "I called [Fox] halfway through the first season, and I said: 'I don’t know if I like it.' And she said I had to wait a while. She was right. [...] Three years in, I think it is my most favourite thing to do, which is not what I expected to say in Season One at all."

Procter credited her cast mates for making the show fun to work on. But she also said CSI: Miami could be challenging at times -- and not just because she spends so much time squatting and looking down her knees are not what they used to be. "It is different," she said. "It is a very unusual style of acting which is specific only to it. And far more challenging than it looks to come up with various ways to look across from a person and tell them exactly what you both know."

The Malaysian Star talked with Procter in order to promote CSI: Miami's third season, which has only recently begun airing on local channel AXN. For that reason, Procter didn't speak about season four, but did provide some general thoughts on her character, saying she wouldn't be against a romance for Calleigh. "I am all for anything that I think might open the door into what Calleigh might be like as a human being," she said. "I think that’s interesting. And I don’t know if ultimately it is the right decision for the show. But I know as an actor it feels like the right decision."

For the full interview with Procter, in which she also talks about the volunteer work she used to do when she started out as an actor, and the "dancing and wrestling" the CSI: Miami cast engage in, head over to the Malaysian Star.

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