Never say that a niche TikTok account can’t lead to bigger things, as Kentucky native Josh Nalley went from posting daily on his account “living_dead_josh” to booking work on CSI: Vegas. For the better part of a year the 41-year-old restaurant manager has been posting daily on the social media account pretending to be a dead body in various locations and in various styles. As one might expect, the entire gimmick wasn’t just for fun but in the hopes that he might get a job in a television show or a feature film, prompting CBS original series CSI: Vegas to give him a call and fulfill his dream. The episode featuring Nalley’s performance aired this week on the netwrok.
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Speaking with The Washington Post in an interview, Nalley said: “I figured that was the easiest way that I could actually get onto a TV show or movie, you know, without actually having to audition or move out of Kentucky…Laziness is part of it.” The outlet reveals that Nalley was contacted in July of this year and flew out to Los Angeles for a week to appear as the “un-alive” body in the show’s new episode. The viral TikTok star went on to call his online schtick as his way of coping with his mortality. “I can face death and not really have to worry about it because, you know, I’ve seen myself dead so many times…It’s a good way to process it.”
Airing Thursdays at 10 PM on CBS, CSI: Vegas stars Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mandeep Dhillon, with original series star Marg Helgenberger still starring as well. Original series stars Jorja Fox, Paul Guillfoyle, and William Petersen appeared in the first season of the revival with most of them departing after the initial ten episodes.
Amidst the neon lights and long shadows, dark threats continue to lurk in Sin City. Maxine Roby leads her brilliant team of Crime Scene Investigators as they use science to solve baffling cases. This combined force will deploy the latest forensic techniques to do what they do best – follow the evidence – in order to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.
