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<\/p>\n After so many hours marathoning Law & Order: Special Victims Unit<\/em>, viewers eventually start to wonder: How do actors convincingly play corpses? And do they get breaks to breathe?<\/p>\n Luckily, Ask Us<\/em> is here to find the answer. It turns out it\u2019s not easy to control twitching eyelids, a tiny breath or even, in a tight close\u00adup, a pulsing vein, which is why some actors specialize.<\/p>\n While giving Us a set tour for NBC\u2019s St. Denis Medical<\/em><\/a>, cast member Mekki Leeper<\/strong><\/a> recalled speaking to one such cadaver king: \u201cThe actor told me he auditions for corpses all the time and always books it.\u201d<\/p>\n The pro has a foolproof strategy for determining when to breathe. \u201cHe holds his breath for as long as he can and listens to the scene over and over,\u201d Leeper explained. \u201cWhen a main character speaks, he knows that person is going to be on camera. That\u2019s when he quickly takes a breath.\u201d<\/p>\n Though it takes skill, lots of folks seem to have a death wish. Mariska Hargitay<\/strong><\/a> told Seth Meyers<\/strong><\/a> that stars are always petitioning her for a Law & Order: SVU<\/em> guest spot \u2014 as a lifeless body.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the famous people, you know what they want? To be a dead body,\u201d she said during an October interview. \u201cIt\u2019s so weird.\u201d<\/p>\n Meyers however, didn\u2019t think it was so weird. He revealed that he was among the celebs who had asked to play dead on the NBC show.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to be a dead body. During the 2007-2008 writers strike, I met all these Law & Order<\/em> writers, and I was like, \u2018I wanna do a cameo, but I just wanna be a dead body,’\u201d Meyers recalled. \u201cAnd they were like, \u2018Oh my God, we\u2019d love to have you on the show.\u2019 But I was like, \u2018OK, but I\u2019m a dead person.\u2019<\/p>\n His agent sent over a script, but Meyers was disappointed to find that he would have lines to memorize. \u201cI was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want lines, I just wanna be a dead person in the park.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n