Gary Dourdan interview - Radio Times, June 2002

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Gary Dourdan interview - Radio Times, June 2002

Gary Dourdan in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation © CBS Broadcasting Inc.

The CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star looks back on his childhood and shares some of his odder experiences as an adult.

What are your earliest memories of TV?

I loved The Green Hornet with Bruce Lee. I was really into karate when I was a kid. I'd spend my Saturdays in the Chinatown area of Philadelphia watching kung-fu films. All in Chinese, but it didn't matter.

Were you ambitious as a child?

Yeah, and I still am. My pop used to throw me into stuff that he thought I'd like. So that was how I got started with martial arts, music lessons and theatre. I stuck with nearly all of it.

What have you enjoyed on TV lately?

I love the Discovery channel and travel shows. Anything that lets me travel around the world without having to pay $1,200 for a ticket.

What's the strangest thing you've been asked to do in the course of your career?

I appeared in a Janet Jackson video and the director, who was dating Janet at the time, asked me to stick my hands down her pants. It got a little freaky for a minute but I did it. She was fine about it.

Warrick Brown has a gambling problem. What's the most you've ever lost on a bet?

It was by not betting on this year's Super Bowl. I'm still sick because I knew the New England Patriots were going to win, even though they were underdogs. I was planning to bet a couple of grand but I didn't have time.

Describe yourself in three words.

Direct, ambitious, light-hearted.

What would be your first act as world leader?

I'd make music a requirement for education, and make sure that teachers got paid a lot more.

In a natural disaster, what one possession would you rescue from your home?

My double bass.

When was the last time you lied?

I'm getting better at being more honest. I used to lie to women a lot, but now I tell them directly what's happening in my life, which works out better - you may break some hearts, but at least you're not cowering around people. I'm a Sagittarius so I'm always slinging arrows of truth.

Have you ever seen a dead body?

When I worked in New York, a guy jumped off a building right in front of me. His brain ended up a different part of his body.

Have you ever been the victim of a violent crime?

I was held up at gunpoint once in Florida. I'd lived in some tough inner city areas, and then I went down to Florida for a year and this guy held up my buddy and me. We gave him $30 in $1 bills.

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