The fact that I’m playing a gifted scientist on television right now is hysterical, says AJ Buckley who plays lab tech Adam Ross on ‘CSI New York’

WHEN AJ Buckley first landed his “CSI New York” role, he was really nervous. And he had good reason to be.

Before he got the job, AJ was living out of his car — a BMW, sure — but a car. “I was giving myself a month left of living out of my car with 32 dollars. Then I got a call and I got ‘CSI New York.’ And I went, “Oh my god, thank you so much.”

AJ, who was born in Ireland and raised in Canada, has been a CSI New York regular since Season 3 and he just loves it. “I really get to see how the story is taken from the embryonic stage and running it through every department. It is unbelievable, the amount of time and effort and work that goes into doing one episode.”

How did you develop your character Adam Ross in the show?

When we started off there was no character description of Adam and I was really nervous to get the job for many reasons. One, I was completely broke. And Gary Sinise was someone I had completely idolized as an actor and when I met him on the set I was so nervous and jittery. To get through the scene I said to myself I just got to make Adam a nervous guy because I can’t fight the fact that I’m nervous. I needed this job right now. In Season 3, I got the offer to go full-time on the show and I jumped at the chance.

When you said you were living in a car, did you really mean you were living in a car?

I did, yeah. It wasn’t the lack of help from my parents or my family or my friends but it was a stage in life that I had to figure out on my own. I couldn’t take help from anyone, I had to figure it out. That was a really strange crossroads. I had this conversation where I either had to go home to Canada and get a 9 to 5 job or I needed something to break. I’m here now so I guess it was meant to be.

What would you have done if you went back to Canada?

Get any job I could get to build up money again to come back down. I wouldn’t have given up. Because when you’re here and you come over from Canada you can’t have an under-the-table job because you get caught, you get thrown out of the country. You can only act. That puts a lot of pressure on you not being American. Recently I got my green card and it was a real blessing.

What kind of car was it?

My mother called it Hotel BMW. It was a BMW that I bought when I first got out here.

What was the first luxury item you bought after landing your “CSI” job?

I bought this really great barbecue (grill) so I can cook steak and drink beer. I love having people over at my house for dinner so I needed to get a really nice barbecue.

What is it like on the set? Do you guys play pranks on each other?

I’m a bit of a jokester so I always mess around with Carmine (Giovinazzo). He’s a really old friend. Carmine and I and Eddie and Hill, we’re always cracking jokes and putting things on each other’s cars, anything to keep us laughing.

Can you make suggestions for your character?

Yes, it’s definitely a team effort. It’s actually cool to see when you realize that the writers are starting to write how you speak. There’s a certain beat. So you can read the scripts and hear how each actor is speaking. When you’re doing scientific dialogue, it helps.

Is it hard to get into the character of the city?

New York is such a great city, one of my favorite cities in the world. A lot of the films I watched growing up were set in New York. I had to study my New York, I had to understand what New York was. But the vibe was sort of set with the actors. I mean you hang out with Carmine and Eddie and there’s New York.

You have tattoos on your wrist — what are those?

My mother and father, who are my best friends.

Were you already familiar with ‘CSI’ before you were cast?

Yeah, I’d seen it before and I played a killer on “CSI: Vegas” prior to that. I booked a guest star on “Miami.” Just before I had to go and do that — because you can only do one “CSI” a year — that’s when we got the call from Pam saying, pass on “Miami” and come be a lab tech on “CSI New York.”

How good are you at science?

In school, I was terrible. My head was in the clouds, I was daydreaming all the time. I blew up things, things would just catch on fire. I’ve gotten some e-mails and I’ve run into teachers from those years who were like, “Yeaaah, hidden talent.” The big words I have to learn for the show haunt me. It’s like a bad dream with all these giant words. They’ll be in my head for hours. You have these big words to say and all these names to say and I’m already nervous on top of it, so yeah. I’ve learned a lot about science though. I really have. I’ve learned a lot. And I can drop some serious words, big words. I’m great at Scrabble now. People are like, “That’s not a word.” It’s a word.

What kind of killer were you on ‘CSI Miami’?

I was a bad killer.

What was it like working with Gary Sinise? How did you overcome your nerves?

Did you go through formal lab training?

Not so much formal lab training but everyone involved with “CSI New York” is so particular so any question you ever have there’s always someone to give you a full-detailed answer.

When you get around these talented actors, you don’t want to mess up. I think Gary’s one of those actors who’s been around forever, who’s done such amazing work onstage, worked with all the greats. He is one of the warmest people you will ever meet but when the camera’s rolling, he’s Mac and so I’d be like, “Oh my god, this guy hates me, he’s staring at me, is he mad?” Every time I walk on the set, I’m like, “Oh my god, I’m fired. I’m definitely fired. I’m totally fired. I’m never coming back here again.” But it was just me beating myself up. But he’s a great guy. I’m not nervous anymore on set. Now I have fun.