Here's Who Plays the Dead Bodies on Forensic Files

Have you ever been watching a true crime show and found yourself wondering who they paid to lay in a pool of blood all day for those dramatic murder reenactments? Was it an actor who was just looking for an IMDB credit or did the director just put a P.A. in a wig and call it a day?

In the case of Forensic Files, which ran from 1996-2011, it turns out the dead bodies -- and crime scene re-enactors in general -- are played by various employees of the network.

"I could say very proudly that all those people are employees of CNN and HLN," Nancy Duffy, Senior Vice President of Development at CNN told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour while promoting Forensic Files II. "They are producers and senior producers...People that work in the building will come up to me and say, 'I could be killed, I could be dead! I could kill someone!' ... You would be surprised how excited people are to be killing or hiding or kidnapping, or tying up -- we actually had a producer agree to be bound and tossed off a boat into the water."

Discover Your New Favorite Show: Watch This Now!

Talk about dedication to the job! Though honestly if you had the chance to be on TV in a role you couldn't possibly screw up, can you honestly say you wouldn't be the first one to volunteer as tribute?

Forensic Files II will premiere in February 2020 on HLN.

(Disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.)