‘CSI’ has a secret Maine actress taking time out from ‘CSI:NY’ to play real-life role of mom

“CSI: NY” fans soon will be seeing less of Anna Belknap.

It’s not because the actress from Damariscotta, who plays Detective Lindsay Monroe, will be leaving the second spinoff of the hit CBS franchise. Instead, she and her husband, actor Eric Siegel, are expecting their first child in January. The “CSI: NY” producers haven’t written the pregnancy into the show, so they’ve been doing their best to hide her condition.

“I think you can see it in my face,” Belknap said in a phone interview from Los Angeles. “I’m always standing behind things. I’m still working, but I’ll be seen less, then I’ll be gone for a few episodes while I’m on maternity leave.”

Playing Lindsay has been a breakthrough for the 34-year-old Belknap, who has previously had roles on such blink-and-you-missed-them shows as “Deadline,” “The Handler” and “Medical Investigation.”

Like Belknap, Lindsay comes from a rural state, in this case Montana.

“She’s really excited about her job, and she wants to feel like she can cut it in New York,” explained Belknap, a 1990 Lincoln Academy graduate. “She’s very smart and scientific, and tries to hold her own with the police aspects. She has something in her past that been hinted at, that caused her to become a CSI.”

Since her arrival on the scene, Lindsay has had an on-again, off-again flirtation with fellow CSI Danny Messer (played by Carmine Giovinazzo).

“I think something will happen down the road,” said Belknap, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and theater from Middlebury College in Vermont. “Not much can go on with my being pregnant. Besides, there’s more drama this way.”

Belknap, who earned a master’s degree in acting from the American Conservatory Theater in 1998, has continued her education by working with such established actors as Oliver Platt (“Deadline”), Joe Pantiliano (“The Handler”) and Gary Sinise (“CSI: NY”).

“I was totally starstruck around Oliver, and was too nervous to act with him,” she recalled. “Joey Pants was just amazing to work with. He had a totally different approach to acting than I had been taught. I learned the classical way, while he is a very free actor, who taught me about being spontaneous and creative in the moment. Gary is this incredibly talented actor who has that skill of making thoughts and words connect on a deep level for himself. He’s a real pro, always prepared and very supportive. I’m getting to see how a lot of different people work, and I’m picking up pieces from each.”

Belknap got the “CSI: NY” opportunity thanks to connections she had made earlier.

“I had a good relationship with the CBS casting people,” she said. “They were thinking of me for ‘Numb3rs,’ but I didn’t get that role. Then they said, ‘How about ‘CSI: NY?’ I auditioned for the role and got it.”

She joined the show at the start of its second season, replacing Vanessa Ferlito, and soon felt at home.

“The crew and cast were all great,” she said. “You want to do a good job, because it’s already a good show, and you want to add something to it.”

Belknap tries to get back to Maine whenever she can, as her whole family still lives here. She and Siegel have a place in Waldoboro.

With a role on a hit series, Belknap at last knows what she’s doing next year.

“It’s really nice,” she said. “It makes it a little less tense. Everyone’s secure, so it makes it an easier work environment.”