One of TV's biggest dramas over the past decade (and then some) has been CBS' Criminal Minds, and most fans would agree that TV characters don't get much more belovedlly suave than Shemar Moore's Derek Morgan. But guess what? It turns out that the actor himself could lose that calm and collected persona real quick when his co-stars would decide to prank him on the set. Here's Moore hilarious explaining one of his favorite things about filming Criminal Minds.
I think I had a big 'L' on my forehead for being a loser, or 'S' for stupid or 'D' for dummy, because I was the most gullible person in the world. They used to punk me with fake rats. They'd put a string on a big ol' long ball of black tape. I'd be in the middle of a scene, and they'd pull it through the scene. And they'd go, 'Oh, Shemar, a rat!' And I would jump up on tables. I don't like rats. I'm not about rats. And i"m out here in New York City and they got some big rats. We had a lot of fun.
I can't be the only one picturing an old Tom & Jerry cartoon just then, when whatever owner Tom had would hop up on a chair anytime Jerry was walking around inside the house. And who can blame the other Criminal Minds stars for doing it more than once? I mean, if you see that it works the first time, there's no reason not to keep trying until a point when the actor stops reacting in such a way.
Also, you gotta love that Shemar Moore refers to it by saying they'd punk him with "fake rats" in that TV Guide video, but there weren't any actual fake rats in his story. Just balled up pieces of tape, which speaks to how gullible he is. Perhaps the cast and crew started off with a legitimate fake rat from a Halloween store (or a prop department, considering where they are), and they eventually just got further and further from reality until they ended up on a bunch of tape standing in for a real animal. Kudos to all, if so.
The best time to pull a stunt like that would undoubtedly be during a scene between Morgan and Penelope, right as he's calling her his "Baby Girl." To have that pet name get interrupted by a high-pitched squeal as he throws actress Kirsten Vangsness in the faux rodent's direction as a sacrificial pawn. You really learn about another person during a hilarious prank like that.
It was just last week, during Season 13's fifth episode (titled "Lucky Strikes") that Shemar Moore made a big return to the killer drama. And fans went nutso for it, just as they did when he showed up in that wild Season 12 finale. No rats, though, sadly.
Criminal Minds airs every Wednesday night on CBS at 10:00 p.m. ET, and hopefully with more Shemar Moore cameos in the future. But he'll be busy with his own new CBS show, S.W.A.T., which premieres on Thursday, November 2, at 10:00 p.m. ET. Check out our fall premiere TV schedule to see all the other shows that have yet to premiere in the near future.
