NCIS' Perrette Fights Real Crime in Her Downtime

• Sep 7, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by Joseph Hudak

Turns out Pauley Perrette isn't doing all her crime fighting on CBS' NCIS. The actress behind gothic forensic specialist Abby Sciuto turns up on Saturday's 21st-season premiere of America's Most Wanted (9 pm/ET, Fox) to help her hero, John Walsh, try to find the killers of two young girls: Raven Jeffries of Detroit and Shannon Paulk of Prattville, Alabama. But Perrette isn't just lending her face to the cases — she admirably put up $20,000 of her own money toward the reward funds and will be manning the AMW call center this weekend. TVGuide.com spoke to the actress about doing her part and what we can expect for her character this season on NCIS.

TVGuide.com: Why'd you get involved in these cases?
Pauley Perrette: I'm a huge America's Most Wanted fan and I saw this show about these two different little girls who were murdered, one in Detroit and one in Prattville. My boyfriend's family is from Detroit, and I've got a whole bunch of family in Prattville. I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I contacted America's Most Wanted and asked if I could post a reward in the cases. They asked if we could do a show about it, which was kind of weird because I'm usually more private about altruism. [Perrette put up $10,000 for each case.]

TVGuide.com: You visit the crime scenes in tonight's show. That must have been heavy.
Perrette: It was so heavy. We went to Alabama. We went to Detroit. We met with Raven's mother and her family. We went to the crime scene, where she was abducted and where the body was found. There aren't words to describe.

TVGuide.com: What can the casual viewer, who likely doesn't have a tip in this case, do to help?
Perrette: It's important to remember that these victims of crimes and their families feel so alone. But they're not alone. All of us out here can think about it, pray about it, help in any way we can. Remember the pain these people are going through.

TVGuide.com: How'd you become such a huge AMW fan?
Perrette: I've always hated criminals and crime. Life is hard enough without someone walking into your life on purpose and making it worse. I think John Walsh is an American hero. His [show] is an incredible public service. And it works!

TVGuide.com: In the less tragic world of TV drama... what can you tell us about this season of NCIS?
Perrette: We're shooting our 100th episode right now [airing Oct. 30]. It's right around Halloween and it's kind of a spooky Scooby-Doo-type show, where things creak and there may or may not be a ghost ship.

TVGuide.com: What can we expect for Abby?
Perrette: I'm sure she'll be in peril a few times. You gotta love the Abby-in-peril episodes!

TVGuide.com: Any romance on the horizon for her?
Perrette: I haven't heard a peep about romance, but who knows? Maybe it'll be Ducky. Or Ziva. That would be something else.

Check out memorable Pauley Perrette moments in our Online Video Guide.

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