Last year we interviewed Robert David Hall, who plays Doctor Al Robbins on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Robert is also the leading voice for actors with disabilities, having to use two prosthetic legs after a near-fatal accident. He continued to act even after people told him he could never do so with a disability, and he ended up where he is now.

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Did you start acting before or after the accident? If before, do you think the accident made you stronger?

I don’t think I realized it at first. I had taken some acting classes when I was in college at UCLA. I was trying to bolster my grade point average. I found that I really, really loved it. This is when I was about 22. But I didn’t get into acting because when I was in my 20s I was working as a musician and I had dreams of being a musician. I had never started out wanting to be an actor. But after the accident, people told me ‘You could never be an actor now’. When people tell me I can’t do something, that’s when I want to do it.

Do you think that actors with disabilities are treated fairly or are they still not getting?

Absolutely. Acting jobs come from acting auditions. You have to get an audition to get the job. Producers, networks, and filmmakers are still a little bit uncomfortable that a person with a disability could actually cut the mustard, that they could be professional. I’ve been working hard with different groups, it’s a lot of people trying to change this. If the only thing you ever see in a disabled person is some sappy story how sad it is to be injured or to have a disease… If you see a person with a disability doing something positive or normal or something exciting, you get a different sense of what people with disabilities can do. If you look at television or the films, you still don’t many people with disabilites in the arts or in the media. It’s an ongoing battle… The most I can do as an indiviual is to try to do good work in what I do. There are a number — not many — but a few number of actors with disabilities that are starting to make a name for themselves. We recently did a survey at the Screen Actors Guild — I am the chairman of Performers with Disabilities Committee — According to a UCLA survey, Less than one half of one half percent of all speaking roles on television are uttered by people with disabilities. It leaves a pretty wide gap, it holds true in a lot of societies.

What sort of activities do you enjoy in your free time? Is there anything that you were able to do before the accident that you can’t do now?

I look more at what I can do than what I can’t do, it’s the only way to really move forward. I’ve always been a musician and I’m still a musician. I worked 12 hours yesterday on the show, but today I had a little bit of free time so I was playing the guitar. I work out and I go to the gym and I have a trainer. During the warmer months I love to swim — I have a gym. My work out regime is a little bit molded to my situation. I think it’s important for everybody to get some physical activity in their life, no matter what their situation.

Were there any characteristics that you were able to add to the character? Was the “being in a band with the other coroner” a characteristic that was already in the character, or did you add that?

We’ve been doing this show for many years. My character is not the star of the show — The guy who I was modelled, the coroner in Los Vegas, was a man named Gary Telgenhoff, and Gary himself plays in a heavy metal band. He’s a very funny character and I like him a lot. When the writers found out I play guitar, they said ‘maybe we can use this as a story idea’. So it all sort of blended together. Everybody has some talent or weird thing that no one knows about.

Unlike some other shows that are always set up in hospitals and courts, it seems that many places are travelled to while in the “field”. What’s the most interesting place that you been to to film a scene?

A good 80% of what I do is in the coroner’s morgue. We have a couple of them on our studio set. But I’ve got the chance to go out a number of times. We film a lot of desert stuff outside of Los Angeles. I found that kind of interesting. We go to Las Vegas 5 or 6 times a year. Vegas is almost the character on our show.

How long a day is it in the studios? Do you get breaks and what sort of stuff do you do during breaks?

There’s no average day. We can work anywhere from 8 hours to 18 hours. It takes us 9 days to film each episode. I don’t mind working a long day, it’s kind of fun actually. We have an incredible crew. It takes about 3 or 4 minutes to film the actual take, but it can actually take half an hour to light it and get everything ready. I have a nice trailer. It;s just outside our studio — We have 4 studios on the Universal lot — I love to read. I bring my guitar in my trailer. I have a lot of people I like talking. I find it very interesting. I get a kick out of being on a sound stage and being on a lot.

How are the rooms set up? Is it anything like it is on TV?

I wish you were in LA, because I would take you on a tour. For example, at Universal studios, where we film CSI, it’s a huge lot. They film 3 or 4 other shoes. We have 4 sound stages. One of them is Grissom’s office and one of them is the place that I work. Our set designers and out special effects guys are really amazing. One day you’re looking at a hospital and the next day you are looking at the mayor’s office.

I really love the lighting and how the sets look on TV.

Thank you for saying that. I will do these shows and six weeks later when it airs on TV, I’ll be amazed at how it looks. We are in the moment, and we get lost in the story.

I heard that the corpses are wax — Are they usually all wax or do some of the actors lie on the table?

They’re normally actors. I’d say 85% of what you see are actors — We get them to breath shallowly, and in post production we can make them appear to be completely still and we put contact lenses in their eyes. When they die, they show up on the gurney in my lab. When you see me cutting into something or sawing or doing something bizarre, that is probably a model.

Ah yes, and one of the corpses, Regan Burns, I interviewed. He’s going to be on a new Comedy Central show soon.

Ha! That’s funny, because we’ve 160+ plus shows and I don’t remember all of them. But I remember Regan’s, because that was when I was outside. That was when they found him on a bus bench or something. And he had a cigar in his mouth and a party hat. He did a wonderful job here. I have a son who is 25 who loves Comedy Central and works as a Production Assistant, so I guess I see him on occasion.

Do you enjoy doing the voice acting for the CSI games? Any future with voice acting other material?

I love voiceover! I’ve been a voiceover guy for over 30 years. I wish I could tell you I’m on Family Guy or something, but I’ve done the Batman Series, Avatar, Static Shock. Voiceover work is fun! You put on a hawaiian shirt and show up to the studio on time. It’s something I think I’m pretty good at. I just enjoy it. Doing the CSI videos has been a lot of fun, because its easy. It’s Doctor Robbins, you don’t have to work hard to make a new character.

How exactly did you get your start on CSI? Did you think that the show would not be successful at first or did you always like the idea?

We all have agents… They had a coroner for 3 or 4 episodes the first year. That actor didn’t want to stay with the show, or the show wanted to replace that person. There was a huge audition.. 300, 400 people. And I ended up being the guy that got hired for 1 shot on the 5th episode. That’s what I did, and they brought me back 5 more times the first year. And then they made me a regular at the beginning of the second season. It would go over well and they would put my face at the beginning of the show in the third season.

Do you interact with the stars of the other CSI series? Do you watch their shows?

It’s funny. I know Khandi Alexander, who plays the coroner on CSI Miami, she’s a wonderful actress, and I’ve met Gary Sinise on CSI NY a few time. We rarely see each other because we are all in different studios. I’ll see them at CBS functions where they have all of us together. But we’re all competitive too. We all want to beat the other CSIs. Even though I have respect for some of what they do, I’m really proud of being on the original CSI. We hate anybody on other CSIs, but it’s a competitive world out there.

How do the producers figure out all the terms that you speak when you are discussing the body?

When I was a young man.. When I was 30, I was injured pretty badly. And I spent about 8 months in a hospital, so I’m kinda familiar on a first hand basis with some of the terms. but we have consultants who are there to make sure I hold the scalpel the right way. I’m pretty good, I do a lot research each week when I get the script, and I’ll make sure that I understand what I’m talking about. My job is to be consistent .. I want people to believe that my character is actually a forensic pathologist so I make sure I know the words and I can pronounce them and I make sure it seems like I’ve done everything a thousand times.

Unlike Grissom’s and Sara’s characters and relationships, your character does not really have a cult following… Are there any relationships or anything in store for your character?

I would love that. Doctor Robbins, they’ve made him quirkier this season than before. I’m not going to be the love interest on this show.. I’m in my late 50’s, so I’m probably the oldest member on the cast.. I’ve done a lot of things that people know me for before CSI, so I’m happy with the response I’m getting. I get tons of letters every week, and most of them are very complimentary, from people that enjoy the show and like my character.

The stars of CSI are pretty much set on CSI and do not make guest appearances on other prime time shows, but do you think you will be in another movie or TV show? what do you plan to do after your career?

I’ve done some small films. I’ve got one coming up called Gene Generation, which you might be able to Google and check out. That’s with Bi Ling, who is an Asian actress and it’s pretty cool. It’s an oddball DNA Hacker movie where I play a villain (and I like that). I’d like to keep acting until I’m 90 if I get that chance. I don’t ever want to retire. I’m lucky to make a living with something I love doing. Although one day CSI will go away, acting won’t. I hope I get to play the crazed scientist or the demonic grandfather. Acting is just something that’s always been with us and always will be.