Get All Access for $5/mo

This Guy Did The Same Thing on TikTok for 200 Days Straight to Land His Dream Job on CSI CBS reached out after seeing the aspiring actor go all-in on being an "unalive body."

By Gabrielle Bienasz

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

He's been absolutely dying for the job.

Josh Nalley, 42, a restaurant manager in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, has been playing dead on TikTok as @living_dead_josh to get a job — and he finally got his wish: to play (you guessed it) a dead body on CSI Vegas, according to The Courier-Journal.

In his TikToks, Nalley dies in creative places, like cornfields, and under a Hardee's sign and counts how many days he's been doing this, "until I am cast in a movie or TV show as an un-alive body," he writes on his videos. ("Un-alive" is a common TikTok slang word for being dead.)

@living_dead_josh #fyp #foryoupage ♬ It's Corn - Tariq & The Gregory Brothers & Recess Therapy

The New York Times reported that Nalley got outreach from CBS around day 200. He also told the outlet he decided to do this video series due to "boredom."

"I was spending a lot of time on TikTok and trying to figure out what I could do to get on TikTok and maybe get in a movie with as little effort as I thought would be possible," Nalley told the Times.

On day 321, he announced he had been cast by CBS in CSI: Vegas. Nalley told the outlet that CBS emailed him saying they saw him on TikTok and wanted to give him a role. He will be in an episode that will air on Thursday, November 3.

@living_dead_josh Tune in to the Season 2 premiere September 29th @csicbs #csivegas #cbs #dreamcometrue #goals #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Who Are You - The Who

"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 told the outlet.

Nalley said he has no acting experience but has now also been contacted by people wanting him to be in music videos or in smaller-budget movies.

Gabrielle Bienasz is a staff writer at Entrepreneur. She previously worked at Insider and Inc. Magazine. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

This 20-Year-Old Student Started a Side Hustle With $400 — and It Earned $150,000 Over the Summer

Jacob Shaidle launched his barbecue cleaning business Shaidle Cleaning in 2021 when he was just 15.

Growing a Business

The Top 5 AI Tools That Can Revolutionize Your Workflow and Boost Productivity

Discover the top 5 AI tools for marketing and content creation that every marketer needs to know.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Money & Finance

People Under 25 Have the Best Chance at Building Wealth in This U.S. State — and the Worst in These 2 Others

Housing prices, household incomes and unemployment rates are all significant factors.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Is Now the World's Second Richest Person, Behind Elon Musk

Meta's CEO jumped ahead of Jeff Bezos in Bloomberg's rankings this week.