David Caruso, who plays Lieutenant Horatio Caine on CSI: Miami, said this week that he is very happy to be on a series that could conceivably last for nearly a decade after walking away from his previous show, NYPD Blue.

Speaking to James Brady in this Sunday's Parade Magazine's "In Step With" column, Caruso described as "unreal" the situation with which he was faced while appearing on the earlier hit series. " The show had been on the air for a month when he began to receive million-dollar offers to appear in movies, and reporters labeled him greedy when he decided to depart the series.

Now, however, after three years on CSI: Miami, Caruso said that he was happy staying put. "Under our current producer, the show has really found its legs," he noted. "Our ratings Monday nights have been good and are staying good, with an amazing viewership and our own little core audience."

Though most of the series is shot in Manhattan Beach, California, Caruso expressed his wish to spend more time in the show's titular city. "My heart lies in the state of Florida," said the actor, who owns a home in Miami's South Beach. "Winter in the Everglades is really beautiful - no bugs, no heat." Though he also owns a place in Los Angeles, the actor admitted that he misses New York as well; he grew up in Forest Hills and "skipped college" to "hit the pavement", working as an actor first in Manhattan, then in Hollywood.

An online-only excerpt from Brady's interview observed that one of Caruso's better-known roles among the many police officers he has played was in King of New York, in which he played a cop hunting a gangster played by Christopher Walken. "It really captured the eccentricity of a midnight world and wildly colorful characters. Walken was great and that movie stood the test of time," reflected the actor.

Caruso added that he would like to act on Broadway, "although, with our shooting schedule it would be difficult." He admitted that he had his own idea for a Broadway play, and said that he wouldn't reject the idea of a political career if there were things he could do to help the state of Florida.

Brady's "In Step With" column appears in tomorrow's Parade insert in US newspapers. The online exclusive is here.

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