Even though he’s a professional actor, neighborhood resident evan mason found himself completely out of his element when signing on as a sleuth in the new spike tv reality show “murder.” The plot follows everyday folks as they try to solve a homicide case, each one pulled straight from the legal files with its crime scene replicated down to the gory details.
How did you get involved in this?
I knew I was dealing with a reality show, but I didn’t know exactly what it was. Ever since the first “Survivor” and a couple shows like that, a lot of the reality shows have sort of gone downhill. They were sort of mindless bluffs to me — who can sleep with who, and who can yell the loudest — and I’m not really into that, so I was nervous going in.
But your fears weren’t confirmed?
I was surprised to find out that this was something intelligent, an opportunity to step into the shoes of a CSI expert. I was very intrigued. Here’s something that actually could do some good in the world and educate people about new technology and catching criminals.
Do you watch murder mystery or crime shows?
I sort of dabble in a lot of them. I’m not a stickler for any one particular show, but I find myself watching all the different CSIs. I also like the grittiness of “NYPD Blues” and I can be found watching “The X Files.”
So what was this experience like?
At the very beginning when we got there, we got to go through a crash course in CSI procedures from a real CSI person who came in with all the equipment. That alone was, like, awesome. It was to help prepare us for what we were about to do. I had no idea it would be like it was.
What do you mean by that?
One thing that had the biggest impact on me was how incredibly realistic everything was, from the environment to the details of bodies and that sort of thing. I’m not a squeamish person, but I’d never even been to a funeral until my mother died six years ago, so I’d never seen a dead body. Now I had to walk through a crime scene with blood splattered and go to a coroner’s office. It was so real that I had a difficult time making a distinction between what was real and what was not, so I went through all these emotions.
Did that make you think differently about crime scene investigators?
Obviously, I had a healthy respect for what these people do, just the details and the precision they must learn and have in order to do their job effectively. It’s just amazing the kind of details they have to pay attention to. I’ve seen the crime shows and all of that, but you can’t overlook any piece of evidence, whether it’s microscopic or right there in front of your face.
Did you have that experience?
I felt like a CSI agent on his first day at the job and all the excitement and nervousness and thrill of that, and at the same time in the back of my mind, I was thinking about the victim and their loved one, and I had to put my emotion behind me in order to do my job. That was the hardest thing for me, because I care about people, and I thought, wow, if I feel this way about one case, how do these CSI agents do this day after day and deal with families and husbands and wives and parents and still do their job? That amazed me.
What kinds of people were chosen for the show?
One was an exterminator, and I think one was a natural foods chef or cook. They wanted all kinds of different people. I am an actor, but there was no acting in this show. None of the experiences I had as an actor could have prepared me for what I went through. It took me weeks to recover from the realism.
“Murder” is currently airing on the SPIKE TV channel. The episode of featuring Evan Mason aired Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 9 p.m.; watch for re-runs of that episode later this month. For information about the show, visit spiketv.com.
