CSI: Vegas' Mandeep Dhillon Keeps A Bucket Next To Her During Scenes In The Morgue - Exclusive
A show like "CSI: Vegas" leaves little to the imagination when it comes to breaking down a crime scene and its aftermath, often showing bloody murder locations, frightening flashbacks, and lifelike autopsies.
The series, a sequel to the long-running "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" that airs Thursdays on CBS, follows a crack team of investigators who use the most up-to-the-minute technology to gather evidence and capture homicidal criminals. Sometimes, though, the realistic visuals on the show are too much for the actors to bear, particularly for Mandeep Dhillon, who plays investigator Allie Rajan — who is usually knee-deep in carnage.
During an exclusive interview with Looper, Dhillon and her co-star Matt Lauria — who plays Allie's potential love interest and lead investigator Josh Folsom — discussed Dhillon's visceral aversion to blood, which is hard to sidestep on a series like "CSI: Vegas." It's so hard, in fact, that Dhillon actually keeps a bucket next to her during particularly gruesome scenes.
Dhillon sometimes dreads filming certain scenes
Before "CSI: Vegas," Mandeep Dhillon appeared on "24: Live Another Day" and had a bit part in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," with not much in her background to prepare her for the ghastliness of such a realistic crime drama — so she's often left on set with her stomach churning.
"The crew are aware," she admitted. "I have a bucket nearby if I'm in the morgue. If there's blood, I have to constantly tell myself it's raspberry sauce ... There have been times when I don't want to [do a scene] because it's disgusting."
Still, she somehow manages to get the job done. "It's interesting because when I'm standing there as Mandeep, I'm like, 'Ew.' Like, 'I genuinely feel sick ...' But as soon as they say 'action' and Allie kicks in, I'm in there, taking out organs, and I'm fine. Then they say 'cut' and I'm back to being like, 'Ew, get it away from me.'"
In Dhillon's defense, on-screen crush Matt Lauria jumped in to mention one of his co-star's biggest strengths. "Mandeep struggles with the goo and the gore," he said. "However, she is exemplary with the science and rattling off mouthfuls of biochemical whatever the hoo-ha. She's amazing at it."
"CSI: Las Vegas" airs Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.