TikTok user posing as dead body in viral videos lands guest spot on CSI: Vegas
living_dead_josh/TikTok; Erik Voake/CBS Josh Nalley; Paula Newsome and Mandeep Dhillon on 'CSI: Vegas'
A Kentucky native's yearlong TikTok campaign to land a guest spot on a Hollywood production as a dead body caught the attention of one of TV's biggest franchises.
Josh Nalley, who hails from Elizabethtown, Ky., has for the last year been sharing kooky videos of himself posing as a dead body on his TikTok account @living_dead_josh. His efforts, which often find him face down on dirt roads, riverbanks, and retail locations, are all in service to his dream of being cast as an "un-alive body" on a TV show or movie. Because Hollywood is all about making dreams come true, the folks at CSI: Vegas have cast Nalley in an upcoming episode of the crime drama.
And, yes, he will play a dead man.
"I got an email from CBS that said they'd seen me on TikTok and wanted to offer me the part," Nalley told the Courier Journal. "At first I didn't believe it, but they flew me out to California. It turned out that Mario Van Peebles was the director for that episode so besides getting cast in the show, I also got to meet him, which was great."
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The 42-year-old restaurant manager will appear in the Nov. 3 episode opposite stars Paula Newsome, Mandeep Dhillon, Marg Helgenberger, and William Petersen. When reached for comment, CSI: Vegas showrunner Jason Tracey told EW of the cameo, "Rarely do we find an actor as well prepared to play a corpse as Josh. It was a pleasure watching him work. He's a pro at this death thing."
Executive producer Jonathan Littman added, "As a fan of the show, Josh really threw himself into the process and it was more than just a gig being an extra — he really committed. For us it was chance to have some fun within the scene."
As for Nalley, he's been counting down the days until his TV debut on his TikTok — while pretending to be dead, of course.
He also posed in front of the CBS building in Los Angeles and on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — aptly, right in front of Helgenberger's star.
"They wanted me to pose next to Marg Helgenberger's star and had asked me to bring a towel to lay on because that sidewalk is really dirty, but I forgot," Nalley said. "So rather than laying facedown I kind of turned over on my side and played dead. The thing was the sidewalk was really, really hot."
For his big scene, Nalley spent two hours in the makeup trailer and then had to lay very still on a gurney for the three to four takes it took to capture the scene. "We had to redo one take because I had my phone in my pocket and forgot to turn it off," Nalley said. "Of course, it was a telemarketer calling. That was kind of embarrassing."
"I originally got this idea after seeing a woman on TikTok posting about hot sauce and then she got offers from a bunch of hot sauce companies," he said. "I thought if I was creative enough playing an un-alive person, I could get the attention of a television show or a movie production company, and how about that, it worked." He says he's also received offers to play dead in music videos and low-budget films.
CSI: Vegas airs Thursdays on CBS at 10 p.m.
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