Until Martin Scorsese’s much anticipated film, Shutter Island released next year featuring Curtiss Cook, fans can catch Curtiss on an upcoming episode of The Good Wife on CBS! Below, Curtiss talks about the fifth episode, which he appears in and more!

Tell me about the 5th episode that you are in.
Basically what happens is, my character is accused of killing a cop but through the course of the episode, viewers find out that there is a crooked cop in the mix. Then there is my wife who is trying to get me released and off of death row, which I have been on for about 6 years and Julianna’s character comes in and tries to solve the case.

What intrigues you about the character, Clarence?
When I hear about a black man in a criminal role, I just don’t feel the desire to play that but then as I began to read the script, I realized there was a twist to it and it wasn’t a stereotypical role. This production company was thinking outside the box…or inside the box but honestly.

Have you ever visited a prison or done any research on those who have famously been wrongly committed of crimes?
I have talked to people that are in prison but I have not done any research, no.

The way that the episode is written, is there an open space where your character could come back at some point?
I hope there is always an open opportunity to come back. With this episode, my character probably won’t come back but I just hope that this episode is very well received. I would love to come back as someone else, that’s cool too.

What do you think makes The Good Wife so interesting and unique?
I like the set up, I like the angle that we never got to see…the wife. We see what happens to her, the challenges that she has to deal with because of this situation.

Moving onto your upcoming work that is about to be released…what was the audition process for the upcoming Martin Scorsese thriller, Shutter Island?
Oh my goodness. Shutter Island is like a once in a lifetime experience for an actor. I thought when I did The Interpreter, it couldn’t get any better! It took me 2-3 months for me to get a callback of any kind. Then I got a call from my agent telling me that Martin Scorsese wanted to have a sit down meeting with me. I’m thinking, “Stop playing, that’s not even funny” but he told me that he was serious. My heart was beating so fast. I went in and had to keep telling myself to just relax because I had so much energy! I was thinking, “If I don’t get it, I’m good because this right here is surreal.” It was such a cool meeting. We went over a few scenes, he read with me and directed me and it was just such a pleasure to meet him and work with him.

The fifth episode of The Good Wife will air Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 10/9c on CBS.