Special agent David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) is one of the Quantico team members comprising the "Criminal Minds" FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) trying to apprehend the lawbreakers of Washington D.C. and beyond. While the show boasts any number of dramatized TV tropes, Mantegna is grateful the BAU is steeped in reality.
"I like that we represent a real organization because, in a way, it keeps the reins in a little bit," Mantegna said during the interview with Assignment X. "We can't get too crazy because we represent a real group, and I think it's good to have those kinds of boundaries in a way." The real-life Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is just one of the many FBI groups fighting crime alongside local law enforcement. According to an official FBI podcast, the actual BAU targets serial killers, as well as rape and kidnapping cases, which is akin to what the BAU does on "Criminal Minds: Evolution."
"The perspective that we look at is the behavior; it's the motivation," real-life Supervisory Special Agent Mark Hilts said during the same podcast. "It's the 'why' part of a criminal investigation. We've done research and interviewed serial killers to understand why they do what they do." Hilts is a genuine FBI agent who finds himself dramatized each week in the form of "Criminal Minds" characters like Rossi, Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness).
