Blair Underwood Goes To War

In his 15 years as a professional actor, Blair Underwood has played a lawyer, a teacher ... even Jesus. Now he's got two prime roles on his plate, and he discussed them Wednesday with Early Show Anchor Bryant Gumbel.

Underwood, who plays a surgeon on the CBS series City of Angels, also has a small but pivotal role as a Marine captain in the movie Rules of Engagement, which opens Friday.

He took the role, he says, partly to work with director William Friedkin and partly to travel to Morocco, where the film was shot, even though it's set in the country of Yemen.

Underwood grew up in a military family. "I told (my dad) years ago I wouldn't go in the military necessarily; maybe, one day, in a film I would do it. Here it is."

He also admits it was fun to "play soldier."

"I was like a kid in a candy store," he recalls. "It was elaborate... I mean, if you ever played paintball, it was like that. But, you know, we had the basic training deal. The captain who trained the actors in Saving Private Ryan took us out before filming started. So by the time we got there, as a group, we were like a well-oiled machine."

In the future, Underwood hopes to make more independent films like Asunder, a psychological thriller which opens this weekend in limited release.

Underwood revels in the freedom that he is afforded in independent films because they "allow you to play something different" from the routine. For instance, in Asunder, "I play a psycho, a crazy man." But he notes that the price you pay for making an movie without the backing of a studio is the hassle of raising the money.

"It's a difficult process," he adds. "It's the Hollywood shuffle."

He keeps his "day job" on his CBS series. Unlike other hospital dramas, City of Angels features minorities in prominent roles as it examines the professional and personal lives of people at a struggling county hospital in Los Angeles.

As Dr. Ben Turner, Underwood portrays a talented, devoted surgeon who is determined to care for the community, despite the injustices that surround him. The show also features problems of his romantic past with co-worker Dr. Lillian Price (Vivica Fox).

"I made a conscious effort after L.A. Law not to do a series, and I did a couple of films," he explains. But City of Angels presented him with the opportunity to work again with writer-producer Steven Bochco. At the moment, Underwood describes himself as "happily discontent" with how the TV series is going.

"I'm happy with the progress of the show. I see it growing. (But) I would love to see it at a better time slot," he explains.