MADRID, SPAIN - Spanish national basketball team player and LA Lakers star Paul Gasol says he recently completed filming a guest appearance on the hit US crime drama "CSI: Miami" in an interview published Sunday.

"It was a very attractive opportunity. I play Victor, a normal person who is involved in a car accident and police are suspicious that I am responsible for what happened. I have good, meaty dialogue with an officer," he told daily newspaper El Pais.

The episode will air on the CBS network in the United States next month. It will be one of the first episodes of the ninth season of the series about a team of South Florida forensic experts who probe mysterious or unusual deaths.

In March Gasol, who helped the Lakers win the NBA championship last season, appeared as himself in an episode of "Numb3rs", another CBS drama about an FBI agent who recruits his math genius brother to help solve crimes.

"I have always had the acting bug inside me. What this city gives me are opportunities. I'm in the best team in the league, I'm one of the best franchises and this is the city where it happens all the movies," he said.

But the 29-year-old forward said his height -- he stands at a 2.13 metres (seven feet) -- and his busy basketball schedule keep him from trying his hand in more acting roles.

"It's not so easy because of my physical characteristics. They break with the norm, with the size of conventional actor. They are usually short and it is difficult to find roles for someone my size," he told the newspaper.

"CSI: Miami", a spinoff of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", is one of the most watched shows on US television. It has spawned a series of comic books, novels, and video games based on the show. --AFP