Danny Martindale/FilmMagicAs Justin Bieber fans worldwide know by now, the teen pop sensation is returning to CSI in February.
George Eads, who plays Nick Stokes on the hit CBS crime show, says he's been consistently impressed by Mr. Biebster. "He's a cool kid," Eads told me last night at Entertainment Weekly's pre-SAG Awards party at Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. "He's in the eye of a hurricane and I think he handles himself really well…We had a lot of intense scenes together. We got along really well. I really respect the kid."
However…
"I think he has a lot to learn, but he was just fine for what he was doing there," Eads said of his acting. "You know, it's not Gone With the Wind. It's CSI! It's four or fives lines. I mean, it's not a Rubik's Cube."
Bieber returns in February (just days after his movie hits theaters) as a young kid whose older brother was killed in his debut episode.
SPOILER ALERT! STOP READING RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE UPCOMING EPISODE!!!
"One of my crew guy goes, ‘Man you're going to split the country down the middle—half of them are going to hate you and half of them are going to love you,'" Eads said with a laugh.
In other words, Eads shoots Bieber's character…dead!
"In the context of the story, he deserved it," Eads said when I asked how it felt to kill the world's most famous 16-year-old. "I think in a way I was also at fault for killing Taylor Swift, too. Man, I'm going to have to stay away from a lot of people. Tell Miley Cyrus not to come one our show."
(Originally published Jan. 30, 2011, at 11:59 a.m. PT)