Being fired ignites a fire under George Eads' career

Being fired ignites a fire under George Eads' career
By Terry Morrow
October 31, 2005
Bremerton Sun

Actor George Eads says he wasn't exactly greeted with open arms around the set of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" after being fired - then rehired - a year ago.

"People wouldn't hardly look at me when I came back," says the actor who plays Nick Stokes on the hit drama (airing 9 p.m., Eastern, Thursdays, CBS).

In the summer of 2004, Eads failed to report to work and was promptly let go. Eads was in the middle of contract negotiations and reportedly wanted more money.

He apologized, was rehired and returned to work days later.

He says he drove up to the lot on his first day back and the security guard was slow to let him back on, referring to the actor as "the fired George Eads." Eads says it was a reality check on how low he had fallen: Even the security guards were giving him a hard time.

On the Internet, he saw what fans were saying, and it wasn't good, either, he says. The press hounded him, especially when no one bought his explanation for not showing up to work. (He says he overslept that day.)

"It humbled me, man," Eads says. "The best thing in the world for a grown man to get is a (expletive) whuppin'. I got stripped away from any ego." "CSI" was his first major acting break. With it gone, he says his life fell part.

"Let me put it to you this way: I woke up on my dog's bed with my dog beside me," he says, his Texan drawl growing stronger with each sentence.

"I hadn't even realized I had gotten up. It was the most horrible week of my career. I drank to get through the week. I didn't sleep. I was pretty volatile. I was mad. I was pretty angry at first."

And, he says, coming back was not easy.

"I was embarrassed. To have the strength to come back and hold my head up high and act with conviction was hard. I was embarrassed when I came back to the set."

The Texas native likens his return to a high school student who gets caught wetting the bed and all his classmates know about it.

Since the incident, however, Eads' profile has been raised on "CSI." Last spring's season ender featured him prominently in an episode that Quentin Tarantino directed.

Still, a year later, he says, "I'm leery. I don't know how to describe it. I have learned to stand my ground a little bit better. There's no fear now, man."

He also says he's more dedicated to acting and everything's ducky around the set. Of course, he also says he has let go of his inhibitions, too.

"Nothing makes me nervous anymore," he says. "I don't care what people say about me. I don't worry about that kind of stuff. It's what happens when a man gets humbled."