Paul Guilfoyle as Jim Brass
Captain Jim Brass, on the series
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, is portrayed by Paul Guilfoyle. Born on January 3, 1953, Jim grew up in a middle-class household in Newark, and when the riots broke out during the 1960’s, he was in the middle of pursuing his college education. Bearing witness to the injustice, he felt compelled to pursue a career in law enforcement. He gave twenty years of his life to the New Jersey police department, and was eventually promoted to detective. He used his position to reform the department, and was known for his persistence when it came to investigating.
Although his efforts were noble, the stress of the job took its toll on Jim’s well-being and marriage. At times, Jim would turn to alcohol to lessen the stress and would cover up his alcohol-laced breath by ingesting some cough drops. His wife, Nancy, got involved with his fellow police officer, Mike O’Toole, and Jim in turn engaged in a relationship with Annie Kramer, another member of the department. Later on, Jim attributed the failure of his marriage to Nancy’s affair, and claimed that Nancy used Jim’s relationship with Annie as a way to end the marriage. When everything settled down, he relocated to Las Vegas, where he became the crime scene investigators’ team supervisor. However, when one of his subordinates, Holly Gribs, was killed during her first day out in the job, Jim lost his position to CSI Gil Grissom, and was transferred back to the homicide department.
Although his relationship with Nancy has yet to reach a peaceful resolution, he does have some form of family left in Ellie Rebecca Brass. Ellie grew up believing that Jim was her father, but in actuality, she is the daughter of Mike and Nancy. Nevertheless, Jim loves and treats Ellie like her own, and therefore has expressed great disappointment in her decision to become a prostitute in Los Angeles. When Jim was critically injured by murderer William Cutler, Ellie paid a visit to her ailing father, but it soon became clear that she was more interested in claiming Jim’s pension. Jim then gave power of attorney to Gil, and after his operation, was met with a room full of CSI agents who had stayed by his side throughout his suffering.