'You Feel Like You're Playing A Real Life Superhero': Kellan Lutz On CBS's 'FBI: Most Wanted'

(CBS Local)-- Actor Kellan Lutz doesn't have a ton of television experience, but TV audiences will be seeing a ton of him over the next few months in the new CBS drama "FBI: Most Wanted."

The spin-off of the Dick Wolf drama "FBI" follows the men and women of the Fugitive Task Force as they chase down the criminals on the Bureau's Most Wanted list. The series stars Julian McMahon and Lutz plays a man named Kenny Crosby who is always right in the thick of things.

"The cool thing about a Dick Wolf show is how well-oiled it is," said Lutz in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "We have the best camera crew, best actors, and best writers. Usually it takes a while to get everyone to function as a unit and this was easy. The subject matter is really dark and really gritty. We are an elite team going after the most heinous of criminals. The worst of the worst. When I watched our backdoor pilot from FBI into FBI: Most Wanted and we blew a guy's arm off... this is like a really dark movie."

The bulk of Lutz's acting work comes from movies where he made a name for himself in the Twilight franchise. The actor has always had a heart for fighting injustice and playing an FBI agent aligns perfectly with that.

"You feel like you're playing a real life superhero even though it's movie magic," said Lutz. "It's fictitious, but you're telling a story. A lot of bad guys don't start out bad. There's usually something you can trace it back to and it's really important for our audience to see in FBI: Most Wanted. You see the arc in the first act and you see the crime that happens. You see them in a human way and then they go off the deep end and then you have to bring them to justice. I love my character. Kenny Crosby is ex-Army vet and he struggles with some PTSD. It's a real thing and a real issue."

"FBI: Most Wanted" premieres Tuesday, January 7 at 9 p.m. on CBS4.