Gary Dourdan

When he was young, Gary Dourdan became interested in acting, music, and martial arts. Later in his life, Dourdan moved to New York City and worked as a doorman at a rehearsal studio, where he met some of Manhattan's promising young artists.

Dourdan played in several bands in New York City in the early 1990s and acted in regional theatre around the tristate area. He received his first break when Debbie Allen cast him as Shazza Zulu on "A Different World," based on a tape of him in an avant-garde play. In 1996, Dourdan appeared in the "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" episode "Never On Sunday" where he played an assistant.

In 1997, Dourdan played the character Christie, the first mate, crack-shot, and second in command of the spaceship Betty, in the film "Alien Resurrection." He also appears in the films "Playing God" and "Thursday," and on television starred in the Dick Wolf production "Swift Justice" and played a recurring role on the Showtime series "Soul Food" until he nabbed the part of Warrick Brown on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." In 2007, he appeared in the film "Perfect Stranger" alongside Halle Berry.

Dourdan's most popular role began as a cast member of the original CSI series, which debuted in October 2000. He played analyst Warrick Brown who, viewers find out, has a checkered past fraught with gambling problems. By working in Las Vegas, the character is able to use his personal experiences from the street to help him throughout his career. Ultimately, he ends up battling his demons throughout the show instead of overcoming them.

In the Season 8 finale, Dourdan's character was shot and left for dead at the episode's end. The Season 9 premiere revealed Dourdan's character dying in the arms of his colleague and friend Gil Grissom.