Fans of the CBS drama Criminal Minds and the Green Bay Packers will see a familiar face on this week's show.
Packers receiver Greg Jennings makes his network acting debut with a cameo appearance as a lab technician during Wednesday night's episode (May 5, 8 p.m. CT). He has a few speaking lines in a short conversation with cast member Shemar Moore (Agent Derek Morgan) in his one scene.
"When you think about a lab technician, you think about the long white coat and glasses and everything, and that's what I was thinking," Jennings said. "But it's more along the lines of me in the (forensics team) jumpsuit, taking the (dead) bodies out.
"When the police discover a body, they call in the lab techs, and they come out, zip the bodies up and take them away. That was me."
Jennings flew out to Hollywood in late March for the filming of the episode at CBS Studios. He said the shooting for his scene took only a couple of hours, and he wasn't expecting the celebrity treatment he received.
He said he was given his own trailer, with "Head Lab Tech - Jennings" over the door. The crew members were all wearing Green Bay apparel during the filming of his scene, and he said Moore was particularly helpful with some on-the-spot acting lessons between takes.
"It was fun, it was fun," Jennings said. "I was going in letting them know this is not what I do. I'm on the football field. That's me, that's my domain. But the cast members were great, giving me feedback. They opened their arms and helped me as much as possible and tried to make me look as good as possible."
Jennings got involved in the show almost by happenstance. A few years ago, he met a former CBS producer who introduced him to the producer of Criminal Minds. They got to talking about him coming on the show sometime, but over the last couple of years it hasn't worked with Jennings' schedule, especially last spring when Jennings and his wife had their second child.
But Jennings was able to work it in this year, and he's in discussions to potentially make an appearance on the TV show The Game on BET at some point down the road.
That show involves a fictitious professional football team, so it's more up Jennings' alley. But he enjoyed the challenge of playing a completely different role in a crime drama and was fascinated to get an insiders' peek at the world of prime-time television.
"It was pretty detailed, and it's pretty neat what they do," Jennings said. "Being behind the scenes and seeing how they set things up, it's neat how they put it all together."
I've never even heard of this show but I might have to set the DVR and check it out, could be entertaining.
That's great.
