Proving the power of perseverance and that there are no small parts in Hollywood, Tracker star Justin Hartley got his start like so many on television, by appearing in an episode of CSI: NY early in his career. Similar to the training ground that Law & Order has provided for decades, Hartley made the most of his brief performance in the long-running crime procedural after making his debut in the soap opera Passions and playing Oliver Queen in Smallville.
Cut to nearly 20 years ahead. Hartley is now among the most popular TV stars for his work on Tracker, a crime series separating itself from similar shows by combining the great outdoors, survivalism, and wilderness. The irony is that both CSI: NY and Tracker are produced by CBS, the network that Hartley can safely call home now that Tracker has been renewed for a third season. But before the series returns, Hartley’s New York experience in CSI is worth a look.

CSI: NY

Release Date

2004 – 2012

Writers

Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn

Franchise(s)

CSI

Justin Hartley’s ‘CSI: NY’ Performance

Logging the fourth acting credit of his career, Justin Hartley appeared in the 2007 episode of CSI: NY, “Heart of Glass.” The episode concerns the mysterious death of Diane Langdon, whose body is found in a bathtub with a bullet nearby. With no entry or exit wound, Mac (Gary Sinise) attempts to solve the cause of the murder. Mac questions Diane’s neighbors, one of whom answers the door with nothing but a towel and a 90210 haircut.
The neighbor is Elliot Bevins, played with brimming confidence by Justin Hartley. A wide angle exposing his physique comes across as hilariously gratuitous, but Bevins has crucial intel to share with the detectives trying to solve Diane’s murder. After telling the detectives he heard two soft gunshots, Elliot assumes that the shots did not come from his neighbor’s place across the hall because he knows the neighbor is in Boston.
When asked if his neighbor is named DJ Melvoy, Hartley says no and that his neighbor is named Justin McKinney. This provides vital intelligence to Detectives Angell (Emmanuel Vaugier) and Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo), allowing them to go after the right assailant. However, Justin McKinney claims he sublets the apartment and has never met Diane.
Right from a Final Destination death plot, Messer finds bullet fragments in the electrical wiring in the ceiling fan above the bathtub where Diane’s body was found. The bullet caused the wire to break apart and fall into the bathtub, fatally electrocuting Diane on contact. The culprit turns out to be another neighbor, Russell Ballard, who tried and failed to shoot his wife, Colleen, while she was asleep. The bullet went haywire, hit the ceiling fan next door, and accidentally killed Diane via electrocution.
Although Hartley’s cameo doesn’t last past the opening credits, fans have noticed the cool connection that Detective Angell is played by Vaugier, the same actor who played Helen Bryce opposite Hartley in Smallville.

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Justin Hartley & Jensen Ackles are two of the small screen’s brightest stars; fans of ‘Tracker’ should check out the talented pair in ‘Smallville.’

Justin Hartley’s Rise to ‘Tracker’

From Smallville to Tracker, it’s been a long road for Justin Hartley to reach the Hollywood success he’s now enjoying on TV. After cutting his teeth in over 400 episodes of the popular soap, Passions, Hartley was cast to play Arthur Curry in the 2006 unaired TV movie Aquaman. Hartley was cast as Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow in Smallville the same year and continued to portray the character for 72 episodes from 2006 to 2011.
Hartley’s performance on Smallville gave way to recurring TV roles in Emily Owens M.D., Revenge, Mistresses, and the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless. During this span, Hartley began making his big-screen presence felt in movies like A Bad Moms Christmas, Another Time, Little, The Hunt, The Exchange, Senior Year, The Noel Diary, and more.

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10 Standout Justin Hartley Roles Before ‘Tracker’

From the early days of soap operas to his more recent forays into the world of prestige television, Justin Hartley has an impressive acting portfolio.

In 2016, Hartley landed the role of Kevin Pearson in This is Us, the popular NBC ensemble drama that currently ranks #128 on IMDb’s Top 250 TV Shows. With such a visible, high-profile role on the air for 106 episodes between 2016 and 2022, it’s no real surprise that Hartley has capitalized on his opportunity by headlining Tracker with such a magnetic command.
Justin Hartley’s path to success from his early CSI: NY cameo to the starring lead in Tracker is a remarkable example of hard work and persistence. For aspiring actors, Hartley’s success story is a valuable reminder that it takes time to find footing in Hollywood and that no matter how small a part is early on, giving one’s all can pay off in due time.

Tracker is available to stream on Hulu & Paramount+