Several CSI: Miami cast members recently took time out from their shooting schedule to talk about what makes their characters tick.

Rory Cochrane, whose credits included the films Hart's War and Fathers & Sons before he hit the big time with CSI: Miami, said Tim Speedle was conceived somewhat differently when the series was created. "Originally, the character was supposed to be a quarterback or something for Miami, so obviously I'm not fitting that profile," Cochrane told Zap2it's Kate O'Hare while filming on location in Malibu.

The actor confessed he doesn't really know that much about Speedle's background, or his specific function in the Miami CSI team. "I guess it seems like some people on the show have history, but I don't know. He's supposed to be a trace expert, but it seems like everybody knows all the different dimensions of what we do. We all sort of share it. It seems like nobody's one thing or the other, except Alexx. She's the coroner, and you don't want to get into that."

Khandi Alexander (Alexx Woods), who was also filming on location during Zap2it's visit, was only too eager to "get into that" — "that" being her character's habit of communicating with the dead. "When I first read the material, that's the thing that attracted me to the part," she said. "That's what makes her different from all the other coroners I've seen." But apparently Alexx's penchant for talking to her corpses isn't as far-fetched as it might sound. "You know, I interviewed a lot of coroners, and all of them told me that the bodies do speak to you. They don't speak verbally, but the body will tell you everything you need to know."

While the coroner speaks to the dead, it's Horatio Caine who often has the difficult task of dealing with the victim's families, something which actor David Caruso is painfully aware of. "One of the instincts that I have as Horatio Caine, is I never want to let go of the absolute, horrific nature of the loss, not only for the victim, but the aftermath of the wives and the families and so on. I don't ever want to let go of their pain, because they can't let go of it."

The full article, which also contains comments from Caruso on being recognised for his CSI: Miami role, can be found here at Zap2it.

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