From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eric Kyle Szmanda (/səˈmændə/; born July 24, 1975 height 6' (1,83 m) ) is an American actor. He portrays Greg Sanders in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a role he has held since the show began in 2000.Szmanda was born in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, the son of Elaine (née Enders) and Donald Szmanda,and has two brothers, Brett and Rob. He attended Mukwonago High School and graduated at the age of nineteen at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California. While he was in school, he began marketing internships with music conglomerate BMG and moved to Chicago, Illinois to take a full-time job in the music business.[2] His great-uncle Ray Szmanda is the "Menard's Guy," a local celebrity in the Midwest famous for his enthusiastic ads for Menard's hardware stores.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 24, 1975 (51)
- Mukwonago, Wisconsin, USA
- Actor, also producer
- 10 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
What are Eric Szmanda's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 2
Grounded 5 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 2
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 1
A split, not a type: Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Allyas Greg Sanders in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)
- Heroas Vargas in Shangri-La: Near Extinction (2018)
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Eric Szmanda's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Eric Szmanda's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
17 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
We Are Pat(2025)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
CSI: Vegas(2021)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
Adverse(2020)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
P.S. Burn This Letter Please (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
CSI: Immortality(2015)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Shadow of Fear(2012)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Snow Wonder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Little Athens(2005)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
True Vinyl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
The Rules of Attraction(2002)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
The Division (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
FreakyLinks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
100 Girls(2000)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Oh Baby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
The Net (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Career shape
Star power in the 85th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 16 titles from 1998 to 2021; peak year 2001.
Film career
Peak 2001 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1998Screen debut· The Net
- 2000First film· 100 Girls
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Eric Szmanda's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 44th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 23rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the acting 43/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 73, detractors 25. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Eric Szmanda work with?
People who share at least 2 of Eric Szmanda's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; David Berman shares the most, 2.
Actors
- David BermanShared titles: CSI: Immortality (2015), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)See all 2 shared titles with David Berman
- Jorja FoxShared titles: CSI: Immortality (2015), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Jorja Fox
- Marg HelgenbergerShared titles: CSI: Immortality (2015), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Marg Helgenberger
- Robert David HallShared titles: CSI: Immortality (2015), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Robert David Hall
