It wasn't long ago that Emily Procter worked as a local TV weathergirl
in North Carolina. Since then, her television exposure has increased
considerably. She currently stars in CSI: Miami,
one of the nation's top-rated crime dramas. Humans like mystery, and
its fun to solve the puzzle, she says of the shows acclaim.

Procter credits much of CSI: Miamis success to the great
camaraderie the cast and crew share. Im amazed by our crew,she
says. I look at that show, and I just think, I cannot believe they
make this show look like this. If you saw the collection of hooligans,
you would be so impressed with them. [Laughs]. They are, without a
doubt, hilarious. It is a cast of characters. We have a great time. I
laugh an extraordinary amount. But we went through a lot of years not
laughing to try to figure out how to do it. I am amazed by the people
that I work with by their work ethic and their amount of character
and their ability to stay consistently good with one another, even
under that amount of pressure.

I almost wish we had a behind the scenes episode, although I guess
people would not be that interested in it,she says with a laugh. Whenever people on the street watch us film the show, they walk away
and say, We never had any idea thats what your actual relationships
are.They are so polar-opposite of what viewers see. The new guy, Jon
Togo, he and I spend a lot of time off-screen either ballroom dancing
or punching each other. [Laughs]. And David [Caruso] is so kind and
sweet in a sensitive way, and I don't think thats what people would
expect of him, either.

Despite the great rapport she shares with her co-workers and CSI: Miamis
consistently high ratings, Procter never takes her accomplishments for
granted. I'm just sort of always thinking that [acting] isnt going to
work out, she says. I think if you ever get too comfortable at
anything [its dangerous]. You know, I wouldn't want to be flying with
a pilot who's like, Hey, I got it down.[Laughs]. But then theres a
part of me that's like, oh my gosh, can you just quit making back up
plans?

While Procter enjoys her celebrity status, she says Hollywood life is
much different than she imagined it would be. In all honesty, I think
I sort of thought it was going to be really fancy, and that I was going
to spend a lot of time lounging about,she remarks lightheartedly. That hasnt really happened. The only thing thats happened is that
when I'm out sometimes, people will be like, Hey, I know you.Then I
feel really bad, because I think maybe I should have on a fancier
outfit.

Procter finds that although fans recognize her on the street, they
confuse her real life personality with the personality of her on-screen
character. People have been really nice to me,she says. Although,
the other day I was getting some breakfast and this guy working behind
the counter was like, Hey, you're on CSI. My mom and I watch that show
all the time. We love it.And I was like, Hey man, thanks.And he's
like, Oh, you're so nice in person.So, for like an hour I was
thinking, Am I a brat [on the show]? [Laughs].

A brat? Far from it. Humble and down to earth, Procter's real life personality is as genuine as her on-screen talent.