Non-MX Interviews: Lauren Lee Smith (4/09 Canada.com)
Canada.com 4/28/09: Lauren Lee Smith

Scene of the crime: Canadian Lauren Lee Smith steals the part on CSI
By Alex Strachan, Canwest News Service
April 28, 2009

BURBANK, Calif. - Lauren Lee Smith doesn't quite know how it happened, but now that it has, she's on cloud nine.

On this early spring morning, she was taking a moment to relax on Stage 25 of Universal Studios between scenes on CSI, where she plays new hire crime- scene investigator Riley Adams.

Opportunities like this - being drop-kicked unexpectedly into the main cast of TV's most-watched procedural drama - happen once in a lifetime for a professional actor, if at all. And that actor had better be prepared when it does.

The Vancouver-born actress had moved to Los Angeles, like so many struggling performers before her, hoping to land in a pilot episode for a new series. A year ago, almost to the day, Smith landed a part in a pilot episode for a new CBS series, one of the 35 new comedies and dramas that are made every spring for that fall's TV season. CBS decided not to pick up the pilot, however. Her new series was dead. Smith was just another out-of-work actor, wondering where the next job would come from.

``I was heartbroken, the day it didn't get picked up,'' Smith said.

That very same day, she recalled, ``a few hours later,'' she got a phone call telling her she was being considered for CSI.

Someone at CBS - Smith still doesn't know who - spotted her performance in a failed TV pilot, and decided she would be a perfect fit for CSI.

One week later, she was in CSI's fold.

``Very, very lucky,'' Smith said, shaking her head at the suddenness of it. ``I still don't know how it quite all came about.''

She bristled at the suggestion she's an overnight success, though.

``I've been doing this for more than 15 years,'' she said. ``I've worked my butt off. I've done a lot of crap, and I've done a lot of material I feel really proud of. I think they recognized that when they thought I could be a part of this.''

Smith's last substantial part before CSI was a recurring role in the filmed- in-Vancouver The L Word, as sous chef Lara Perkins. She appeared in The L Word for 20 episodes, between 2004-'06.

During a three-year acting stint in Toronto, Smith landed a role in the sci- fi series Mutant X, as well as guest appearances in Dead Zone, Blade: The Series and the short-lived remake of The Twilight Zone.

Smith had roles in the art-house films Art School Confidential, Lie with Me, The Last Kiss and Pathology - but nothing with the white-hot spotlight or pop- cultural cachet of CSI.

``This is the first time I've had the opportunity to work on a network television series with this kind of popularity. The L Word was wonderful, but that was Showtime and this is a big network series, possibly the biggest. It's definitely opened my eyes.''

Smith's upbringing - her family lived in Europe, Central America, the U.S. and Canada while she was growing up - has enabled her to adapt to new surroundings in a hurry.

``That becomes a big part of who you are - picking up and moving on, when you're young.''

She still finds time for her hobbies - she spends as much of her off-the-job waking hours as possible rollerblading, swimming and horseback riding. Her hometown of Vancouver still has pride-of-place, though, for her favourite hobbies, ice skating and snowboarding.

Smith still keeps in close touch with friends and family back home; she was in Vancouver over Christmas, she says, during the two-week break between filming new episodes.

During summer hiatus, she hopes to appear in ``some independent film,'' preferably one close to home.

``It's funny,'' Smith said, laughing. ``Going back to my background in Canadian independent films, my brothers in particular are very happy and proud that their sister is in something they feel comfortable watching.''

For now, though, CSI is home.

``It's been incredible getting to work with this group of people,'' Smith said. ``Amazing people, amazing actors, and everyone is so humble. Even after nine seasons, everyone is still realizing how lucky they are to be here, to be a part of this.

``I know everybody always says that about whatever TV show they're on but I had no idea - none - that it could be this good. Every day, I wake up and pinch myself. This is my job; this is my life; and it's pretty cool.''

CSI airs Thursdays on CTV at 8 ET/PT and CBS at 9 ET/PT.

astrachan@canwest.com

© Canwest News Service