Evan Ellingson went from skateboarding in a commercial to playing Kyle Harmon, the son of Horatio Caine (David Caruso) on CSI: Miami.

When he was a kid, Ellingson was noticed while skateboarding with his brothers at a skate park in California. "By the time I was six years old, I was sponsored by Vans shoes for their skateboarding team (the Vans PeeWee team). I rode for them for about four or five years and I did a commercial for them, skateboarding in the background," the actor explained to The Star. "Ever since that commercial I asked myself: 'Hmm. Breaking my bones and trying to skate with some of the best skaters in the world, or act?' I tried acting, and within three months I got a couple of commercials. So ever since that, I started acting."

The 21-year-old actor tried out for the role of Kyle Harmon without knowing the character's relation to Miami's leading man. "It was only at the end of the audition that they told me it was for Horatio's son," Ellingson explained. "I think they did that so I wouldn't be nervous you know?"

The character started out as a bit of a troublemaker, and Ellingson admitted that he used to get in trouble himself. "Now with everything going on with my career, I have to be a little bit more serious," the actor said. "But I can relate to Kyle because he gets in trouble and after that gets a job in the coroner's office."

Working on the forensic drama and playing a coroner's assistant have given the actor a new perspective when he's not on the set. "Just today I was at the Long Beach Aquarium and I was looking at a bunch of things and I found myself starting to look at situations as a detective," Ellingson explained. "It's kind of funny; I like to backtrack things now and I like to get to the bottom of things."

Ellingson was nervous when he joined the cast of Miami, but now he is enjoying the role. "It has been fun; I came to the show knowing nothing about it and within three weeks I am already picking up on all the things that I had no clue about before," he said. "It's because everybody who works on the set is so close to each and they know what each other wants and needs. It's like jumping into a new family. I have a blast working on the set. There is a lot of blood and guts. It's cool."

The actor also had good things to say about his character's father and the actor who plays him. "David Caruso has been doing this show for six years now, and he is Horatio," Ellingson said. "He's a really down-to-earth kind of guy. Without him there isn't really much of anything. He understands that everyone thinks that his character is a little 'too cool' but that's the whole intriguing part about the show – that things fly above everybody's head. He's just into his role." Ellingson added, "Who else do you think about when you say David Caruso but Horatio Caine?"

The young actor enjoys doing television as well as movies. "I don't mind doing both," he revealed. "I've been acting for more than half my life. It's my life and what I love to do. Pretty soon I will start to direct. I love this industry. I love making films, story telling and everything about it."

The original interview is from The Star.

Discuss this news item at Talk CSI!
 Add CSI Files RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a Desperate Housewives fan? Then visit GetDesperate.com!