Man pretends to be dead for 321 Days and gets acting role on CSI

A man who posted a TikTok video every day for 321 days pretending to be dead got what he wanted after landing a dream role as a dead body on CSI: Vegas.

It turns out that with hard work, dedication and several hundred videos of yourself lying on the ground pretending to be dead, you can make it onto a major TV show and have your shot at fame.

At least that's how Kentucky man Josh Nalley managed it as day after day he posted videos to his TikTok account @living_dead_josh of him pretending to be dead in the hopes that a show would cast him as a corpse in one of their episodes.

After 321 painstaking days of pretending to be dead, he got his wish as CSI: Vegas got in touch after noticing the viral star and offered him the chance to play a dead body in one of their episodes.

TikTok/@living_dead_josh

Speaking to the Courier Journal, he explained that he had no acting experience but over time has learned how to more convincingly portray a corpse thanks to plenty of practice.

He said: "I don't like speaking on camera, but I can lie there and act like I am dead pretty easily.

"Having done more than 300 of these posts, I have progressed and gotten better. At first, you could see me breathing, or the fake blood looked really bad."

"I have gotten rid of using the blood and gotten better at holding my breath."

Josh figured out that the key to a convincing corpse shot was for there to be some movement in the video so it didn't just look like the photo, so while he was still as the grave his surroundings were active and mobile.

He says he got the idea after seeing a woman posting about hot sauce on TikTok and getting a bunch of offers from retailers, which had him wondering if he could do basically the same thing about playing a dead body on TV.

TikTok/@living_dead_josh

It wasn't all plain sailing during his time on set, however, as he revealed that he accidentally blew one take by having his phone left on, and naturally a telemarketer decided to ring him at precisely the worst time.

While he has no plans to quit his day job of managing a restaurant, Josh has received a number of other offers to play a dead body for other productions, so maybe his shot at stardom is only just beginning.

Meanwhile, he's still posting videos of himself pretending to be dead for his fans to enjoy... if that's the correct term.

Who knows what else he'll appear in as a dead body?

Topics: TikTok, TV and Film, Viral, US News, Weird

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker