Professional Dead Guy

Dale Connelly: One of the newest trends in TV is the forensic drama. And we're lucky to have a guest this morning who is one of the leading actors in this dramatic genre. Dirk Davern joins us. Thanks for coming by.

Jim Ed Poole: Glad to be here.

DC: I was looking at your bio and … it's amazing. You've been on so many shows.

JP: Police dramas. Hospital operas. These new forensic shows …they're all about evidence and science and I find them very fascinating.

DC: But how do you get parts on so many different shows?

JP: They're small parts.

DC: I know, but still, it's a tribute to you that you're so in demand!

JP: Well, I'm really good at playing dead people. There's a huge demand for dead people in these shows. You've got two, maybe three in every episode. And a lot of actors don't want to play the dead because they don't want to get typecast. But I like it. I'm good at it.

DC: It's a living.

JP: Yes it is. But people think anybody can play this kind of role, and that's just not true. It takes talent, especially in these forensic shows because the stories, a lot of them, aren't what you expect, at first. So I have to really draw on my resources.

DC: But really you're just playing … a body.

JP: Not JUST a body. A lot of times I'm playing a body with a secret. And that's different from just lying there. You really have to know how to be dead in a way that suggests there is more to the story.

DC: How do you do that?

JP: Posture. If my face is in the shot I can do it with the frozen expression I wear. It could be a look of horror, joy, confusion, you know. Even if I have my tongue hanging out, for example. How far I stick out the tongue … and whether it lolls over to the side or comes straight out … wet tongue, dry tongue, puffy, flat … these are all important facets of the dead body specialist's craft.

DC: Fascinating. What are some of your favorite roles?

JP: I would probably say Bathtub Toaster Man was my absolute favorite. That one had it all. Expression. Posture. Make up. And it was a nude scene. If I have to say so myself … I looked pretty good.

DC: Do you ever watch yourself in the shows where you appear?

JP: I do. I tape the show and watch it in fast forward.

DC: Ah!

JP: That's where you can tell if the person playing the dead body is really good at it or not. In fast forward you'll see it if they flinch or shift their weight or if they're breathing slowly …

DC: That's how you hone your craft. Do you every do speaking roles? I mean … people who become dead but you play them both before and after?

JP: No, I don't want to do that. Speaking … you do begin to limit yourself. People pidgeonhole you. Just playing bodies, I can do a wide range. I've played criminals, priests, politicians, daredevils … I even played a dead grandma once.

DC: No kidding.

JP: She was actually a man … that was the secret. But I played her as a woman in denial. She had lied to herself for many years.

DC: I'm impressed. So you plan to continue?

JP: TV has an insatiable thirst for great dead characters. Look at any drama, I don't care what kind … there's a dead person in it somewhere. I want to be that person now and in the future. And frankly, I don't see any end to my career because when it comes to playing the dead, I just get better and better. Someday, I'll perfect it.

DC: Dirk Davern, who plays a variety of dead people on TV cop and forensic dramas. Thanks for coming by. Dirk? Dirk? Are you OK? Dirk?

JP: Fine! Just showing you what I do!

DC: You're good.

JP: Don't I know it!

DC: Dirk Davern!