Playing a corpse on an autopsy table is widely considered one of the toughest background roles in the entertainment industry. Actors must remain completely motionless, hold their breath, and avoid blinking while lying nearly naked on a cold steel slab under hot, anxiety-inducing studio lights. Actors use several techniques and clever tricks to pull off these chilling scenes. First, they learn to breath imperceptibly by using their diaphragms rather than their chests to avoid detection by the camera. Many actors hyperventilate slightly before "action!" is called in order to lower their heart rate and reduce the urge to breathe. They also listen closely to the dialogue to time their exhales when the main actors are speaking or moving around them. Directors often rely on strategic framing so the camera only focuses on the head. If full-body shots are necessary, they can place a stiff frame or board over the actor’s torso, allowing them to breathe freely underneath hidden layers of prosthetic makeup. To simulate dead eyes, actors focus on a stationary object and sometimes use eye drops just before the take to prevent the natural urge to blink. For scenes involving extensive trauma, severe decomposition, or long close-up exposures (such as the traditional autopsy "Y-incision"), productions frequently use hyper-realistic silicone dummies or prosthetic molds instead of a human actor. So, the next time you watch an episode of NCIS and see a corpse laying on the medical examiner's table, you can imagine that the actor is counting the seconds until they can breathe freely.
