Joe Mantegna Says He’s ‘Never Bored’ Playing David Rossi on ‘Criminal Minds’ After 17 Seasons
The actor reveals how he brings himself to the role and why he keeps coming back for more
Key Takeaways
- Joe Mantegna made his debut as David Rossi on 'Criminal Minds' back in 2007.
- The actor opened up about bringing himself to the role and how Rossi never gets boring.
- Plus, he got candid about meeting real FBI agents and how they impact his character.
In 2007, Joe Mantegna debuted on Criminal Minds as Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi, part of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. The confident and capable agent quickly found his footing within the tight knit Criminal Minds crew, and to this day, he’s been an integral piece of the puzzle, still shining alongside original cast members like Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook and more.
In 2020, Criminal Minds came to an end, but it didn’t take long for fans to rally for more, and by 2022, the series was revived as Criminal Minds: Evolution. With the nineteenth season currently underway and the hit show already renewed for a twentieth, you might think these actors have grown bored of the characters they know so well—but that certainly isn’t the case for 78-year-old Joe Mantegna, who’s also left his mark in series like The Simpsons and films such as The Godfather Part III (1990).
In an exclusive chat with Woman’s World, Joe Mantegna opened up about David Rossi and bringing a piece of himself to the character.
Joe Mantegna on his decades-long ‘Criminal Minds’ career
When David Rossi was introduced to the series, viewers learned that he was one of the founding members of the BAU, his character returning to the team after a hiatus in which he spent his time penning a series of successful true crime novels. Upon joining the team, he brought his unique set of skills and eventually softened to become something of a father figure amongst the crew. While there are parts of Rossi that differ greatly from his portrayer—such as the fact that he’s had a series of unsuccessful marriages while Mantegna has been married to his wife, Arlene, for 50 years—it was imperative that he brought a piece of himself to the role in some capacity.
While chatting with Woman’s World, he reflected on a piece of advice he was given while working on a television show in his past, which urged him to personalize his characters as much as he could, for you never know how long you might be working on a series. Nearly 17 seasons later, it’s a good thing he took those words to heart.
“I was very much so involved—when I came in at Season 3—of bringing as much as I can of who Joe Mantegna is to who David Rossi is,” he explained. “ It’s not by accident that he’s an Italian American.”
But Joe didn’t want to just be playing Joe—so there are parts of Rossi that he’s had fun with. “I wanted to have a thing where he had been married a few times. That that’s one aspect of his life that he quite hasn’t gotten right. That he’s been very successful as a writer, but not so successful as a husband or boyfriend or whatever you want to call it. That these are going to be some of the interesting aspects of his life.”
Joe Mantegna says he’s ‘never bored’
Despite playing David Rossi for nearly two decades, there’s something about this character, this series and its impact that keeps him coming back for more.
“Rossi, the character, has been through a lot, is continuing to go through a lot, but that’s life, and that’s why I have such tremendous respect for the men and women who really do this job. I’m grateful for the fact that I’ve had the opportunity to go to Quantico more than a few times and meet some of these people and talk to them, and I have to say, I was heartened by the respect they have for our show, because they feel that they’re being depicted in a way that has a lot of reality to it.”
He continued, “I think they appreciate the reality that we try to create of what that life is like, and I appreciate it as well. So it’s been like that for me this whole time here, and I’m never bored being there, and all of us look forward to what’s next.”
With his passion still burning bright and Criminal Minds: Evolution already renewed for a twentieth season, it’s clear that Joe Mantegna’s journey as David Rossi is far from over—and fans couldn’t be more thrilled to keep following along. Catch new episodes of Criminal Minds Thursdays on Paramount+.
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