James Lesure sits down with Beyond Race to discuss his NBC show, Las Vegas, and much more.

Beyond Race: You have been portraying Mike Cannon on the television show Las Vegas since 2003. What makes this character so interesting?

James Lesure: Mike is a problem solver and he's curious about things in life, so he sort of has a zest for life, I think. That's what makes him tick, he wants to see what's next. BR: What parts of him do you relate to in your own life?

JL: I find Mike to be really open to all different types of people and I think in some ways I'm similar to that. It doesn't matter really what a person's background is, I'm interested in a person's heart and mind and I think Mike may be similar.

BR: Has playing a member of a surveillance team caused you to step up your home security?

JL: No, it hasn't. I've always been sort of a scaredy cat so I put up the security stuff a long time ago, long before the show, and I haven't made any big upgrades because of it.

BR: You filmed the first few seasons in Vegas, but now work out of Culver City, CA. Are Culver Studios nights anything like real Vegas nights?

JL: No, no, no, we shut down over here. We shut down, go home and get some rest. I do love that about Las Vegas and New York, though, because New York stays open so late and Vegas, I love that you can do whatever and have pretty much whatever any minute of the day. That's kind of nice.

BR: Since your show is set in Vegas I have to ask, have you ever been accidentally married?

JL: Nah. I participated in a wedding, but it was all planned. Two good friends of mine got married in Las Vegas.

BR: Did you bump into Tom Jones?

JL: I wish. I remember one thing that jumps out of my head, though. When we first started shooting Las Vegas and we were hanging out between days and Jimmy Caan goes why don't you go out with me and my friends? You can meet us here at this spot. I go OK, sure, it would be great. I'm all excited, I get out and I meet them at the spot and they're sitting at this big long table and all the people around really seem like guys straight out of The Sopranos. No smiles, thick neck type dudes, they really had a serious vibe. That was sort of something different for me.

BR: How did that night end for you? Did you throw a guy into the river with some cement shoes?

JL: Nah, I got on the dance floor. I'm good in Vegas if you got a good DJ and some pretty girls around. I can spend hours doing that. BR: Yeah, I hear you're a bit of an athlete. You compete in the NBA Entertainment League. What position do you play and what's this league all about? JL: It's about guys who think they're much better than they really are. They may be talented actors or producers or writers, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to being good basketball players, but we all think we are. It's a highly competitive league. They got nice uniforms and referees. It's just kind of fun. Right now they got me running the point.

BR: Who else is in this league with you?