Paul Guilfoyle is one of those actors you have known forever. He’s most recognized as one of the original cast members of the smash-hit TV show that was CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a show on which he co-starred for 14 years, appearing in more than 300 episodes. Of course, he’s done much more than that in a career that has spanned five decades, and you’ve seen him perform in well over 100 movies, TV shows and stage productions.
His latest project is the indie crime drama Any Day Now, in which he plays real-life thief Marty Lyons, who may or may not have been behind the biggest art heist in history. It’s a role Guilfoyle really sinks his teeth into. The movie is available on demand starting May 20. He spoke to us from his home in LA.
Insights: Tips on Character Development for Actors
- Focus on inner conflict. Real drama comes from what’s going on inside a character, not just external conflicts or events.
- Stay curious and be willing to fail. Ongoing curiosity to dig into roles and willingness to take risks fuels artistic growth and keeps performances fresh.
- Look beyond the script. Don’t be afraid to explore your character’s story and bring your own instincts and improvisations to the role, even if it means pushing boundaries.
- Find what’s unique in every role. Look for the quirks and contradictions that make each character a distinct and complex individual.
Before we start, I think it’s worth noting that I watched the original CSI. I think I saw every episode.
Well, then you could probably commit the perfect crime.
I’d Iike to think so. I always thought it was interesting that your character, Lt. Jim Brass, was introduced as a villain, but quickly became the team’s primary ally once the show got going.
Well, you know how things are in these shows, they don’t get too far deep into characters. They don’t have time maybe, or sometimes they think of drama as conflict. They would always think it’s cop versus scientist. I remember saying that in a meeting. I literally was throwing the script across the room in the beginning, and I didn’t expect it to really go anywhere. It was my first television show as a regular, and my wife and I had just had a baby, so I thought, I’ll do the pilot. I figured I’d be able to pay for all the expenses of having a child in New York City for the first year.
And 300 episodes later, you can put your grandchildren through college.
[Laughs] Every single year, the ratings went up! I remember, you operate in a vacuum. You get these scripts that are cops versus scientists. The writers thought drama came from conflict, but of course, not really. I think they just went to one drama class. These guys [were no] Elaine May. It’s about people, and the conflict is actually within those people. I said if people had that much conflict, they wouldn’t work with each other.
I mean, you watch The White Lotus, and Mike White, who I met years ago, he’s running really nice internal characters. Granted, they’re all psychosexual conflicts, but he’s trying to develop some other kind of world, where the conflict isn’t external, it’s individual. I love that, and that’s where, just by instinct, I pushed Jim Brass through some improvisations by expanding the material. Not everybody was happy about that, but eventually some of the writers wrote with that in mind. I never gave up on trying to explore the character and keep it going. And I enjoyed everyone I worked with. That is important. We had a great group. One bad apple, the whole thing actually disintegrates, so we had a very good time, and a unique run.
Let’s back up a bit. How did you start as an actor in the first place?
I always knew about acting, and I went to an all-boys’ high school to play hockey. One of the guys who recruited me said, “Listen, you should join the drama club.” He was such a fantastic hockey player, Terry Guiney his name was. He was an All-American, and whatever he told us to do, we would do. Hockey playing, acting, whatever. Curiously enough, I had been elected president of my sophomore class and had to enter a speech contest because no one else in my class would do it. I had to reenact an existing speech, and on a rainy day in the Boston Public Library, I found Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which seemed pretty concise. Reading it, I saw all the self-doubt in it. I [was] 15 years old, and I found myself relating to it. Giving the speech, it was a pin-drop moment, and I could feel the power of it.
Afterwards, a teacher, William Burke, came up to me and said, “You’re not a public speaker, you’re an actor. So come with me, I’m going to take you into the acting club.” We were friends for the rest of his life. He passed away last year, but that one moment, I instinctually connected to a part of myself that had a real talent. It then defined my life.
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Not many people can say they have worked steadily as an actor for 50 years.
Yeah, that’s right. I’ve worked consistently since I was 19. Really, my first play was with Norman Mailer and went to Lincoln Center. It really went forward with this idea of looking for the internal drive. What’s going on inside.
Is that the secret? Just being able to consistently find that internal drive of each character you play?
I think to find it is obviously a challenge, but the curiosity of looking for it, the openness to failing, that is always good. Someone came up to me recently and approached me with the idea of teaching. I thought, maybe there is something to that, to give people, as you said, the secret sauce. To try to find that thing that might help other actors find a way to approach the work. Because there’s so much noise about career and celebrity and the need to get there quickly, and not having a direction toward the artistry of it, that seems to take precedence now. So maybe I have something to deliver on that level.
I think you’d be a terrific teacher.
Yeah, I think it’s time to start thinking about giving back.
Speaking of giving back, let’s talk about Any Day Now. You’ve played your share of cops and criminals over the years. What was it about this guy that drew you to him?
Well, I kind of knew the guy it was based on. He was a pretty renowned wild man, and he had a rock-and-roll background. He was completely crazy. He was a criminal, but not a gangster, which is important. It’s hard to tell when you see an old guy stealing stuff. You think of a gangster, but he was more wild and insane. He also knew a lot about samurai blades. I did a ton of research on that, just so I could have that in my pocket, and those kind of quirky details really intrigue me. Plus, he rides a motorcycle, and he’s crazy and totally existential, and slightly dangerous. That I liked.
Having done this for so long and played as many parts as you have, are you looking for those specifics to differentiate the characters from maybe something you’ve played before? How have you managed to succeed in keeping it fresh?
Thank you for saying that, because I try to do that. I’m always looking for something that’s a little bit … some might say quirky, but certainly something that’s incongruous to what you think the guy’s going to do. Going against the grain. I was always intrigued how we’re all different than our jobs. I think that’s part of the secret that I look for, or try to instill.
Having done as much as you’ve done over the years, what haven’t you done that you still want to do?
Right now, I’m reading Richard III. I also like Beckett plays. The theater, to me, has lots of value. In a certain sense, it’s the actor’s milieu. I did a movie with Jorma Taccone called The Trip — an action comedy where there’s a lot of gunplay and craziness and funny stuff in it, with a great group of actors. I love going on a movie set because it’s the most fun kind of thing as well. But the theater, it’s like a club, and if you don’t keep your membership active in it, you can fall out of it. I want to renew my membership and see if somebody will again choose me to play a part.
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