What does the biggest pop star on the planet do while waiting around the set to film his first foray into prime-time TV?
Interviewed on Tomorrow Will Be Televised, CSI creator and executive producer Anthony Zuiker chats about working with Justin Bieber, who plays Jason McCann—a “troubled teen who is faced with a difficult decision regarding his only brother”—on Season 11 of the hit CBS series, which got under way Sept. 23.
“It was interesting. He definitely is a young boy,” Anthony tells host Simon Applebaum of the Baby singer.
“He likes to eat a lot of cake. And he likes to skateboard around the set. Does a lot of talking, which is interesting.
“He wasn’t prepared for us to change lines on the fly. So that was kind of a surprise to him. But our actors are professionals. They sat him down, worked the lines,” continues Anthony.
“They thought he did an admirable job acting inside the episode. He looked really, really great.
“He’s a nice button to the show, with his evil eyes there—telling the audience that he shall come back. He’s slated to come back some time later in the season.”
Anthony also touches on the decision to cast Justin in the first place.
“There’s no denying, that in a ratings-driven business, when you have a guest star that people care about, there is definitely a pop in ratings. You can definitely see the difference,” he says.
“All in all, it was a win for us,” Anthony tells us of Justin’s “CSI” stint.
“It is a treat to our audience to see someone they know and love in the format of one of their favorite shows.”
Only time will tell if Justin will make a successful jump into acting, as his namesake—Justin Timberlake—has done with the critically-acclaimed flick The Social Network.
But for the moment, millions of screaming fans are no doubt chanting, We want our JB-TV!
