George Coleman Eads III (born March 1, 1967) is an American actor, best known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Personal life

Eads was born in Fort Worth, Texas and grew up in Belton, Texas, 60 miles North of Austin, TX. His father is Arthur Coleman "Cappy" Eads, and his mother is Vivian Baker. Eads has a sister, Angela Eads Tekell, who is an attorney in Waco, Texas. Eads' stepfather, Dudley Baker, is a gynecologist. George graduated from Belton High School in 1985 and from Texas Tech University in 1990 with a degree in marketing, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Prior to beginning an acting career, Eads used to work as a copy machine salesman, as well as selling first aid and safety supplies for Cintas.

Career

To pursue his acting career, he headed to Los Angeles, California, in a pickup truck borrowed from his stepfather. When he arrived in Los Angeles, he could only drive during the day because the truck had two broken headlights. Eads got his big break on the primetime soap opera Savannah. Though his character died in the pilot episode, Eads was so popular that producers continued to use him via flashbacks and eventually brought him back as the character's identical twin.

Afterwards, Eads guest-starred on ER, and worked on several made-for television films like Crowned and Dangerous with Yasmine Bleeth in 1997.

In 2000 Eads became one of the lead characters of the CBS series CSI, in which he portrays a Las Vegas forensic scientist named Nick Stokes.

Parallel to CSI, Eads has worked on some more made-for television films, such as 2003 Monte Walsh, with Isabella Rossellini, and 2004 Evel Knievel, where he played Evel Knievel.

Controversy

In 2004, Eads and CSI co-star Jorja Fox gained considerable press attention when they were reportedly fired from the series, allegedly over contract disputes. Eads was reported to be hours late for work on the first day of filming for the fifth season, claiming to have merely overslept, and Fox had allegedly failed to submit a letter to CBS confirming that she would be on time for shooting. The disputes were resolved in just over a week, and the two were rehired by CBS, though neither actor received the pay increase of their fellow cast members.

In the year 2006, Eads also garnered unfavourable press in Australia when he was scheduled to appear at the Logies (the Australian equivalent of the Emmys). Allegedly, his publicist called the organizers two hours before the event to state that Eads "didn't like red carpets." He also allegedly indulged in several flings with local soap opera stars. The head of publicity for the event, Jamie Campbell, stated that with guests like Eads, "you certainly earn your money".

Filmography

Starring roles

* Evel Knievel (2004, TV) as Evel Knievel
* Monte Walsh (2003, TV) as Frank "Shorty" Austin
* Second String (2002, TV) as Tommy Baker
* Just a Walk in the Park as Adam Willingford
* CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000 - present, TV series) as Nick Stokes
* Grapevine (2000, TV series) as Thumper Klein
* The Spring (2000, TV) as Gus
* Crowned and Dangerous (1997, TV) as Riley Baxter
* The Ultimate Lie (1996, TV) as Ben McGrath
* Savannah (1996, TV series) as Travis Peterson (pilot episode); as Nick Corelli (in the series)
* 1995 "Pastime" 4 part mini-series for Irving Community Television Network as Todd Olson
* Dust to Dust (1994) as Black Wolf

Guest-starring roles

* Two and a Half Men
* that 70's show