Rex Linn
CSI: Candid Star Interview:
Rex Linn, Real Life
By Traci J. Grant
In a world that seems to send the message that stardom comes with early fame, CSI: Miami's Rex Linn is a breath of fresh air. He is a reminder that one, respect comes with experience, age, and skill, and two, that acting is not about fame. He explains, "My goals right now are to not get complacent with my acting, and work on it as hard as I can, and just get to the next level. This sounds really simplistic, but my goal is to continue to be a better actor, and to continue to be employed. It sounds kind of corny, but it's really not. That's what I want to do."
"I want to be respected by my peers and try to keep my work fresh. I came out here to work. That's why I came out here. If I'm fortunate enough and lucky enough to have celebrity go along with that, that's fantastic. Being famous was never in the cards for me. It was about being able to work in front of the camera and this will sound corny also, but to live my dream. I can honestly tell you, right now, I am forty-nine years old, and I am living my dream right now. And I have been, pretty much, since I've been out here, which has been since 1990. Don't get me wrong, there have been some tough times. It hasn't been all strawberries and whipped cream, there have been some tough times, but through it all, it's been great so far, and I wouldn't want to do anything else, ever."
So how does a guy, who, "was raised in a small town in Texas" end up in Hollywood, and even further still, sharing TV time with the fan favorite, David Caruso, on one of television's most watched shows?
For Linn, who says he plays, "the only cop on the show. The rest of the guys are crime scene investigators, I'm from the homicide department," 1990 was a long time coming. "I love horror flicks. I used to watch Frankenstein, and when I became old enough to realize they weren't real monsters, they were actors behind the masks, I thought, that's great. Since I was a kid, I always wanted to be an actor. When I was thirty-two, I sold my house, and I packed up all my stuff. It was a scary move, no question about it, but it was just something that was nagging at me for a long time. My dad always said, you've got to stop talking about acting in Oklahoma City, you need to go to New York or Los Angeles, but if you want to do it, you need to do it. You need to at least try it. So, I did it. I just packed my stuff and came out here. And so far, so good, I'm gonna knock on wood on that."
As Linn talks about the role of Detective Frank Tripp, the passion in his voice is clear. He has clung to the role that initially was only supposed to be a one-time stint. Linn says, "I didn't start off the show. I was hired on the sixteenth episode, and not even as a regular. I was hired for one episode. They liked David Caruso's and my chemistry together. My agent called and said they wanted me for one more episode. That turned into nine in a row in the first season. In the second season I did thirteen, and in the third season I did nineteen. And then last year, they finally stepped up to the plate and signed me on as a regular. It's been fantastic."
For an actor who derives his pleasure from the art itself, one wonders how a role in a show that focuses more on the relationships of the dead people each week, than the living in a sense, would allow him to develop himself as a character. Linn assures, "It's not linear; my character's not boring at all. They need that cop in there that doesn't necessarily understand all this crime scene stuff, their technical jargon. It works really well with David and me, the chemistry between us. I don't say this narcissistically, but the chemistry. We're polar opposites, we're from different parts of the country, different backgrounds. But whatever we do on the screen works."
The facts are undeniable; CSI: Miami is a hit. Linn offers his opinion for the surge of popularity in a show that actually developed from the established CSI: Crime Scene Investigation concept. "My opinion is that it just seemed like such a fresh premise. It's a law enforcement show, there's so question about it, that's not a fresh premise, but to see a bullet go through a head, go through a board, go through a tree branch, that sort of style that they started with. They took some chances with crossing the line a little bit with grotesque stuff that you can just barely get away with on television. That in combination with the characters and the whole style, it's a flashy law enforcement show; I think that's why people really dug it, initially. It mushroomed from there, it snowballed, and here we are."
He also attests to an element many fans forget about: the writing. An actor might be the character, but the writers develop the part. Linn adds, "There are certain things that have to be repetitive. The writers are so great on our show. Almost every one of these stories are real, they're based on a true story, or true events. If you think about it, you can get on the Internet, or read the newspaper, every other day, there is some bizarre thing that happens again. There's some bizarre thing that happens that you think, 'Oh wow, I never heard of somebody doing that.' I would say, for the most part, it's fresh. I can't wait to read the script. Our writers are really, really, good, they do fantastic research, and they're very talented."
Quick to praise those behind the scenes, as well as to remember those behind the scenes, Linn is both appreciative and thankful. Perhaps it was because in his small town in Texas, Linn was "raised as a gentleman." Whatever the cause, Rex Linn is the epitome of not a star, but star character. He concludes, "I've been lucky in so many ways, and I don't think people talk about their family enough, and maybe they don't have a good family scenario growing up or whatever, but I have to say, I have to give my parents credit more than anything for being the great parents that they are."
"I was raised in a small town in Texas, and I'm fortunate enough to have a very supportive family. They taught me values and morals that I think have carried over into every part of business that I've been in. I have to give credit to them, because they taught me how to treat people well, they taught me how to respect people, and I think that's really helped in my career. It does not take anything to put a smile on your face and be nice to somebody. It doesn't' matter if they're a movie star, or they work behind the camera, or they're an electrician, or they're a grip, or they run the camera, or they're a location manager, or whatever they are, they work as hard or harder than we do, and they should never be discounted. Nor should anybody coming on the show that has a one day role, or a half-day role, or is an extra walking in the background. We're all human beings, and we should treat people right. I give a lot of credit to my parents, thus far, for my success."
What is there to say about Rex Linn that doesn't burst through in everything he says? During this interview, Linn commented, "It still blows me away sometimes that somebody even wants to interview me or wants an autograph or a picture with me. I'm thinking, okay, well that's cool, but I wonder why. Sometimes I have to remind myself." Hopefully, I've succeeded in reminding him.
All quotes in this artircle were given in an interview with TheStarScoop.Com