William Petersen, whose role as Grissom in the original CSI has won him TV super stardom, turned 53 last month. His momentum shows no signs of slowing down as TV’s most admired forensic detective gears up for another bloody role, that of Macbeth. Justin Camilleri gives us more details about this popular actor.

CSI’s season five finale Grave Danger, directed by Quentin Tarantino, was shown on UK Living two weeks ago, leaving everyone hooked to their screens. The episode has once again confirmed William Petersen’s pivotal role in ensuring the show’s success.

He is known as the thinking woman’s poster boy. According to Marg Helgenberger, his co-star on CSI: “Billy (as he is called) can be as enigmatic as his character Grissom, enjoying his solitude on set, but has a generous, charming personality that makes him well liked among his peers.” With an adventurous spirit and sharp intellect, he is prone to restlessness and by his own admission, easily bored. An excellent horseman, experienced fisherman and avid sports fan, passion is clearly Billy’s middle name.

Born on 21 February 1953 in Evanston, Illinois William Petersen is the youngest of six children, born to fourth generation Danish immigrant furniture retailers. Being the youngest, he grew up almost as an only child. It was never really expected that he would continue in the family business. As he says: “My father never really held out much hope that I could ever hold down a job.” Billy’s athletic streak can be traced back to his days in high school where he distinguished himself in playing football, baseball and basketball. From a very young age William possessed a nomadic soul - when he was 15 he went to live with his brother in Boise, Idaho where he attended Bishop Kelly High School. This is where he would meet his first wife, Joanne Brady.

Petersen’s hidden love for acting was unleashed when he attended stage craft classes at Idaho State University. His passion towards the stage grew when he saw Marlon Brando in the movie Last Tango in Paris. In a later interview he said: “It was the first time that I understood that acting was an art form. It was not Clint Eastwood on a horse or Bob Hope in a road movie.” He added: “These are all favourite actors of mine but when I sat in Last Tango in Paris, to this day, Brando is the one I want to meet, and the one I’m terrified to meet.”

He spent a year honing his craft in Spain as a Shakespearean student, and returned to Chicago to pursue a career on the stage. His stage debut came in 1979 when he starred in Dillinger. In the same year Billy founded the Remains Theatre Ensemble in Chicago with CSI producer Cindy Chvatal and Gary Cole, appearing in a number of theatrical productions such as Becket’s Waiting for Godot, Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In 1981 Petersen played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada. This led to his first breakthrough in mainstream movies when he was cast by Academy award winning director William Friedkin in To Live and Die in L.A (1985).

Billy read two lines and that was enough for Friedkin, who cast him immediately as Richard Chance a fearless Secret Service agent who will stop at nothing to bring down a ruthless counterfeiter, Eric Masters (William Dafoe) who killed his partner.

Till this day according to Petersen the greatest thing that ever happened to me in terms of acting was his audition for To Live and Die in L.A. Billy at the time said: “After I read the script I went back to my hotel room and took a bath and they called and wanted to make a deal, I still didn’t believe it.”

With its gritty car chase, music video camera technique, raw characterisation and 80s Wang Chung soundtrack one cannot help but compare To Live and Die in L.A to Miami Vice. In fact, after he watched the film, Miami Vice director Michael Mann sued William Friedkin for stealing his entire concept but eventually lost the lawsuit.

In a twist of irony it was Michael Mann who later gave Billy the role of detective Will Graham in the 80s cult classic, Manhunter.

Despite being underrated at the box office during its time of release, it was still praised by renowned newspapers with The Observer calling it: “one of the most stylish and compelling crime pictures of the past decade”. The Daily Mail said: “Here’s a thriller ordeal calculated to strum the steeliest nerves.” While Time Out hailed it as: “Terrifying, one of the most impressive thrillers of the 80s”. All would agree that the film was a success primarily for William Petersen’s character Graham. Unlike the Dirty Harry movies, this detective relied more on the evidence than his gut feeling. Petersen’s performance as a retired FBI expert detective is nothing short of perfection. Absorbing and intense throughout the film, he provides us with a credible hero audiences can believe in.

Produced by Dino De Laurentis (U-571) and based upon Thomas Harris’ bestseller Red Dragon, Manhunter is a favourite among Billy’s fans for three main reasons. It would be the first time that Petersen would play an FBI forensics specialist setting the blueprint for things to come….secondly this was the first time on film that forensic science would be used to catch a killer. Finally, this was the first film to spawn Hannibal Lecter’s (Brian Cox) screen legacy as he would later be played by Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Manhunter’s remake Red Dragon.

Surprisingly, after receiving such critical acclaim in Manhunter Petersen dropped out of the limelight preferring to star in supporting roles in films such as Amazing Grace and Chuck.

He even turned down a role in Oliver Stone’s Platoon to star in Long Gone a 1987 TV baseball drama co-starring Virginia Madsen.

Billy was very effective in Joel Schumacher’s Cousins alongside Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini playing an against type role of an unfaithful husband contrary to what his fans were already accustomed to.

In 1990 an opportunity came for Billy to fulfil a lifelong wish of starring in a western when he played legendary law enforcer Pat Garrett in the 80’s Brat Pack western sequel Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory directed by Geoff Murphy. Co-starring alongside Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips, Petersen did a lot of historical research totally immersing himself in the role of a law enforcer in pursuit of the youngest gun in the west, Billy the Kid (Estevez).

Despite being a sequel Young Guns II was an even bigger success than its predecessor due to Emilio Estevez’s and William Petersen’s onscreen chemistry coupled with the movie soundtrack written by Jon Bon Jovi.

Petersen showed his versatility in comedy roles such as in Hard Promises and Passed Away. In Hard Promises Billy played the role of a man who gets invited to his ex-wife’s (Sissy Spacek) wedding and has 24 hours to change her ways with hilarious results. Directed by Charlie Peters in Passed away Petersen was joined by Bob Hoskins, Frances McDormand and Jack Warden in a hilarious black comedy of what happens when a family gets together for the funeral of their father.

Between 1990 and 1995 Billy would take part in a lot of television work that included Keep the Change supported by Jack Palance, Curacao, the western TV drama Lonesome Dove, Fallen Angels and Present Tense, Past Perfect.

1996 would be Petersen’s comeback to mainstream movies. In Fear, directed by James Foley, Billy’s performance stands out as Reese Witherspoon’s protective father whose worst nightmare comes true when a violent, obsessive boyfriend (Mark Wahlberg) develops a deadly crush on his daughter.

What followed next were a string of supporting roles in TV productions such as 12 Angry Men, Gunshy, The Staircase and playing a very peculiar John F. Kennedy in The Rat Pack. Ironically he would play J.F.K’s father in the mini TV series The Kennedy’s of Massachusetts (1990).

International success finally came his way in 2000 when Billy was cast as forensic investigator Gil Grissom in the CBS smash television hit CSI: Crime Scene investigation. His success was overnight as his distinct portrayal of Grissom made him recognisable to millions of viewers of all ages.

On getting the part Billy said: “I so love this character of Gil Grissom. I wanted to do this show because it was an opportunity for me to learn stuff and, I figured if I could learn things, I would be thrilled by the show each week.”

Set in the heart of Las Vegas, the crime series follows an elite group of forensic investigators, headed by Gil Grissom (Petersen), who use a combination of cutting-edge scientific methods, technology and old-fashioned police work to solve some of the most gruesome and chilling crimes in Las Vegas.

Created by Anthony Zuiker and produced by Blockbuster legend Jerry Bruckheimer, C.S.I was praised by critics all over with The New York Times calling it, “Sexy and fascinating” and Vanity Fair saying that, “CSI purrs like a beautiful machine.”

C.S.I has so influenced the public’s perspective on forensic science that faculties of forensic investigative science in universities in the US and UK have reported an increase in the number of student applications. The rise in student forensic undergraduates has been billed “the CSI effect”. Even forensic departments are using the show as a marketing ploy, making it a point to show images of the barricade yellow tape stating: “Crime scene: Do not cross” on their websites while their prospectuses emulate the CSI: first season DVD cover.

When CSI was originally presented to ABC in 1999, it was dismissed as too confusing for viewers. Little did the producers know that when the show was broadcast on CBS it would shoot to the top of the ratings charts. This feat was further strengthened when NBC’s Friends came to an end in 2004.

According to the Nielsen media ratings the show has an estimated audience of 30 million viewers per week

If Miami Vice set the standard back in the 80s, CSI has truly improved on it. TV audiences are hooked on the show because of three distinct characteristics that were never inserted in other police shows. First there’s the catchy opening credits music theme Who are you? Performed by The Who, its cool unique guitar riffs are heard throughout CSI’s episodes. Secondly, its innovative cinematography that involves flash back sequences and computer wizardry showing how a bullet penetrates bodily organs. Last but not least, you have the spectacular neon flashy locations in Las Vegas used as the backdrop for the show’s bizarre murders. But unlike Miami Vice, CSI was not written for an MTV audience, because it goes far beyond images and guarantees a lot of emotions, plot and character.

Its success spawned two spin-offs CSI: Miami and CSI: N.Y which Billy declined to produce thus ensuring CSI’s strength in script originality and characterisation.

Having created the quintessential Sherlock Holmes for the 21st century totally committed to his job, many will agree that Will Petersen’s role of Grissom is one of the main crowd pullers for one of TV’s most talked about shows. Billy has made the Grissom character his own, with the eccentric detective often quoting Shakespeare’s most celebrated lines at the scene of a bizarre crime.

Fans can’t get enough of Gil Grissom’s one-liner words of wisdom that are always inserted in the teaser before The Who opening credits. Nicknamed “The Bug Man” because of his manic interest in insects, fans watched as his hobby was put to good use in the finale, directed by Quentin Tarantino.

When this episode was initially broadcast in the US it was watched by over 40 million viewers, making it one of the most watched episodes in television history. Even viewers who don’t usually watch CSI tuned in and were glued to the screen.

The tagline of the episode finale was: “This time it’s personal …as one of their own has been captured.” What begins with a flip of a coin ends with the adrenalin pumping as one of detectives Nick Stokes (George Eads) is kidnapped and a reunited CSI team must race against the clock to save him. Meanwhile Nick wakes up to the realisation that he has been buried in a coffin….

Prior to the premiere of Grave Danger William Petersen said: “There was just too much good stuff in there to try and slam it into one episode with commercials”.

When asked why he agreed to direct it, Quentin Tarantino said that being a big fan of the series he was delighted to finally get a chance to fulfil his dream of working alongside William Petersen, his favourite TV detective. Quentin was flattered to be able to lend his writing skills and unique film vocabulary to the already established crime series.

Tarantino’s style of filmmaking has given season six a new direction with provocative new insights into the characters and making it far grittier than its follow-ups CSI: Miami and CSI: NY.

After next season, Billy might surprise fans by taking a long deserved break going back to his stage acting roots playing Shakespeare’s Macbeth. There is no doubt that just as Petersen applies his research to Grissom’s handling of forensics he will thoroughly delve into Shakespearean text. One thing’s for sure, unlike younger models pretending to act, it is at 53 that his career is flourishing. Never relinquishing his humbleness Billy is adamant to not let his celebrity star status affect his judgement saying: “I’ve never been in this business for the recognition or the awards. I just want to do good work, grab a decent pay cheque, and move onto the next job.”