For nine seasons, Gil Grissom led the "CSI" team in investigating some of Las Vegas' most gruesome murders. The socially awkward, witty cop was a fan favorite and has repeatedly been voted one of TV's top sleuths. So, it came as a shock to many when William Petersen announced he was leaving "CSI" in 2009.
The actor told Entertainment Weekly (via CNN), "The reason I'm leaving is because I'm afraid I'm becoming too comfortable." He continued, "It's 'CSI' — they pay me a lot of money, and I don't have to work very hard anymore. I've got it all figured out. And I just realized, God, as an artist, I'm going to atrophy. You do anything for nine years, it becomes somewhat rote." Petersen expressed that he wasn't interested in keeping the job for money or convenience.
"Just didn't want it. It was too safe for me at this point. So I needed to try and break that, and the way to do that, for me, is the theater," he said.
Unlike many of his cast mates, Petersen didn't seem especially sad to leave his character behind, telling Entertainment Weekly, "I won't miss Grissom. ... And I hope that the audience won't miss him either." The audience, however, did seem to miss the unflappable leader, with 23 million viewers tuning in for William Petersen's final episode.
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