Kassius Nelson Interview: Dead Boy Detectives

Welcome Dead Boy Detectives star Kassius Nelson to talk ghost currency, weather challenges, and personal hells.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Kassius Nelson

DHK: What do you admire most about Crystal?

KN: I think she’s very blunt and sarcastic, which I just find quite funny and she says what’s on her mind, and I kind of imagine her as, like, the bridge between the real world and the world of this crazy show. She kind of grounds it in a lot of sarcasm, which I think is really funny.

DHK: Emotionally what was the most challenging scene?

KN: Oh, there were a couple, I think there’s a scene in, in episode one where Crystal is being sort of haunted by David the demon, and she’s been hiding bits of that information from the boys. There’s a scene in the alleyway where she kind of explodes and kind of rips into Edwin. and I found that challenging on the day because I felt like I knew the scene needed a moment like that, and it was hard to get to it. (It needed) to sort of have that anger. We almost kind of were like, all right, we’ve kind of got it, like, we’ll move on. Then we ended up doing one last one, and that’s where we kind of got it, which was good. I think I’d say that was one of the challenging ones for sure.

DHK: Right and it’s so pivotal in introducing everybody, right?

KN: Yeah, I think there’s a lot weighing on that moment for her.

DHK: What about logistically (challenging)?

KN: Oh my gosh. Pretty much every scene, like especially any of the scenes that we’re filming outside were really tricky because we’re working against the elements. Sometimes it’s so cool, it’s so cold that the equipment can freeze or the lighting can change so drastically. I think one day snowing and raining and then sunshine in the same scene.

So it’s hard, I think, continuity wise, to keep and keep shooting. It just wasn’t on our side when we were filming outside in the winter, for sure. so Mother Nature, that’s about.

DHK: I mean when you tamper with the supernatural, things are bound to happen.

If you were presented with the opportunity to forget some of the worst moments or most embarrassing moments from your life, would you take it?

KN:Yes. I think if I could also take that memory away from the people who also remember those embarrassing things, that definitely haunts me, that not only do I know the cringy stuff, other people know the stuff that I’ve done. So I would definitely take it away from them as well.

DHK: What would you use as currency or to barter with if you were a ghost?

KN: Oh my gosh, great question. What, like an object or something? 

DHK: Yeah, because people have to pay the dead boy detectives and there are some interesting payment methods, not necessarily of your typical monetary value. 

KN: Oh, that is such a good question. I feel like if I was a ghost, I would probably collect things like historical things that maybe would be expensive. So I feel like I could maybe bargain with that and be like, I’ll trade you a penny that’s really old and worth something.

DHK: This is Abraham Lincoln’s penny before his face was on it…

KN: Period. Yeah, I’d try that. 

DHK: What do you think your personal aura looks like to other people?

KN: Oh my gosh, I think I’m, I’m very guarded probably similarly to Crystal. So I think people probably think I’m not very approachable and that I’m very shut off. But I think once I’m sort of friends with someone, you know, I’m quite fun and open. I’m very sensitive, like I’m a Cancer. So, she’s crying, she’s nurturing, she’s at home at the time, you know?

But I don’t know, I think people would probably read that or from me. A crap just in the background at that. Yeah.

DHK: Okay so maybe a blue with a crab around it?

KN: A crab just in the background. 

DHK: If you had to come up with a case name for your own life, like “The case of the ___” what would it be?

KN: Oh, my gosh, that’s so good. The case of what the hell is going on?

DHK: To the point, I like it!

KN: Like, I just like, what is going on? Where are we going? What are we doing? I think no one knows what they’re doing. I think it would be quite a fun case to figure out what the hell is going on.

DHK: Okay so speaking of hell, the decor there, so many creepy dolls, so not a fan, what would your personal hell be decorated with?

KN: Oh my gosh. So much stuff. I hate so many things. Okay I hate chalkboards like the sound of scratching. So that or scratching paper. The dark. What else? The dark would be a really good one because you, your imagination would create things for you. So it could be worse than anything that maybe is actually there.

So probably just dark. Just darkness. That would be awful.

DHK: Which of the endless would you most like to run into? And as a reminder they are Destiny, Dream, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium.

KN: I don’t know, I admire them all individually as actors and characters. But if I think of what I want to interact with, I’d actually be scared of all of them. Desire might be quite fun because I feel like anything else might be a bit too scary, you know?

 Yeah, maybe that would be the most interesting and least scary out of a scary selection.

DHK: Broader question, what is the first time, if ever, you felt represented on screen?

KN: That’s a great question. I don’t know if I can think of one moment in particular. I think there’s moments where if a show’s had, really diverse cast, that helps me to feel like I’ve been represented, or even if it’s an emotion or an experience that I’ve gone through that I don’t feel has been shown a lot, especially, I think, around mental health if I saw… so I can’t really think of one at the top of my head, but there have been a few. I definitely the industry can do more to showcase all aspects in race, sexuality, mental health, all of it. I’m gonna have to think about that one.

DHK: And sometimes the answer is never, or “not yet”

KN: True.

DHK: Growing up, who was your favorite fictional character?

KN: Oh, I loved cartoons. That was my comfort thing. I honestly used to watch Scooby Doo all the time. I love Scooby Doo. So I think growing up, it would be, it would be Scooby Doo or like, Kim Possible or something like that.

DHK: Which of the mystery gang is your kindred spirit?

KN: Scooby Doo, the dog!

DHK: Ah the hero of the show, that makes sense! 

What is the first film you remember seeing in theaters that you were the impetus for going to see? 

KN: I can’t remember the first one. I did just have a memory now of, there was a film called Monster House, and it was an animation that was so scary. I remember when I went to watch that, thinking it would be like a really lighthearted cartoon, I was horrified. I think at one point I nearly hid under the seat of, like, the chair in the cinema.

Definitely wasn’t my first one, but that’s what I can remember.

DHK: That’s very funny, fun fact: Monster House – the Rick Morty writer. 

KN: I can see that kind of link.

DHK: You are still young but how do you define personal success now and how has that definition changed from when you were younger?

KN: I think I’m still sort of figuring out what that looks like, and I think it looks different for different people. I don’t think it’s just determined by the shows that you’re in or how much you’ve done on your credit. I think a lot of it is how you feel within yourself and security. I think, could be deemed a success and having choice and agency of yourself in your career.

I think that’s the direction I’m kind of going in. I think when I was younger I, didn’t really think about success. I just thought about getting to pretend to be different people and the more I can do that for the better.

DHK: Thank you so much, congrats on the series!!

More about Dead Boy Detectives:

Do you have a pesky ghost haunting you? Has a demon stolen your core memories? You may want to ring the Dead Boy Detectives.

Meet Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), “the brains” and “the brawn” behind the Dead Boy Detectives agency. Teenagers born decades apart who find each other only in death, Edwin and Charles are best friends and ghosts… who solve mysteries. They will do anything to stick together – including escaping evil witches, Hell and Death herself. With the help of a clairvoyant named Crystal (Kassius Nelson) and her friend Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), they are able to crack some of the mortal realm’s most mystifying paranormal cases.

As part of The Sandman Universe for Netflix and based on the beloved comic series from Neil Gaiman, DEAD BOY DETECTIVES was developed for television by Steve Yockey, who serves as co-showrunner alongside Beth Schwartz and is brought to you by Greg Berlanti. Jeremy Carver and Sarah Schechter also serve as executive producers. The series also stars Jenn Lyon, Briana Cuoco, Lukas Gage, David Iacono and Ruth Connell.

Dead Boy Detectives is streaming now on Netflix