Lombard of 'CSI' Balked at Morgue Visit

RADNOR, Pa. (AP) _ When Louise Lombard landed a role as the new crime-scene investigator on ``CSI,'' a producer suggested she prepare by visiting a morgue. <br/><br/>``I turned to her and said,

Monday, December 27th 2004, 10:39 am

By: News On 6

RADNOR, Pa. (AP) _ When Louise Lombard landed a role as the new crime-scene investigator on ``CSI,'' a producer suggested she prepare by visiting a morgue.

``I turned to her and said, 'That's where the acting comes in,''' Lombard said. ``There's no way I'm going to see a corpse just in the name of research. I'm dedicated, but not THAT dedicated.''

Lombard became a household name in the United Kingdom on the BBC series ``The House of Elliott.'' She had a costarring role in the movie ``Hidalgo.''

On ``CSI'' Lombard plays a crime scene investigator demoted to work on the graveyard shift with star William Petersen.

``She's not a scientist by instinct,'' Lombard, 34, told TV Guide for its Dec. 26 issue. ``She's a cop. Her interest is in justice.''

Still, Lombard hasn't been able to avoid the grimier tasks of her pseudo-job. In her first scene she inspects a pool of vomit, and it didn't get any better.

``The next shot was me putting my hand down a toilet,'' she said. ``I've waited my whole career to do that.''