Black Friday Sale! 50% Off All Access

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

Entrepreneur+ Black Friday Sale

Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*

Claim Offer

*Offer only available to new subscribers

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.

Data & Recovery

Not Backing up Your Phone? This is Why You Need to Start.

Skip the iCloud fees with this lifetime iOS backup tool.

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.

Making a Change

The App That Makes You Think Like a CEO

Even Mark Cuban is on Headway—try it with our unbeatable price.

Health & Wellness

How to Improve Your Daily Routine to Strike a Balance Between Rest and Business Success

Here's how entrepreneurs can balance their time and energy to prevent burnout.

Living

These Are the 'Wealthiest and Safest' Places to Retire in the U.S. None of Them Are in Florida — and 2 States Swept the List.

More than 338,000 U.S. residents retired to a new home in 2023 — a 44% increase year over year.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says This Is the Interest Rate Magic Number That Will Make the Market 'Go Ballistic'

Corcoran said she praying for lower interest rates and people are "tired of waiting."