Local Professor Lands Job As Extra on “Nashville”
MARTIN, Tenn. – A UT Martin nursing professor made a special cameo on the season premiere of ABC’s hit show “Nashville” Wednesday It was never a dream for Dr. Julie Floyd to be in the spotlight or to ever be on television. She is a professor, and says she enjoys working with her students and caring for others. “I have always loved to take care of people and that’s really the reason why I wanted to be a nurse because I’ve helped take care of my grandmother,” Dr. Floyd said. “I’ve just had a calling to do that.” All it took was a phone call from a “Nashville” producer asking her to be an extra to change Dr. Floyd’s mind. Dr. Floyd says since the start of the show in 2012, she has been an avid viewer and watched religiously. “I was very excited I really didn‘t know what I was expecting because I’ve never been on TV before,” Dr. Floyd said. “I was really just an extra on the show. In a lot of the scenes I‘m just in the background I don’t have a speaking part.” In the casting email it was requested for applicants that were “professional and conservative nurses”. Dr. Floyd said she believes producers asked for real nurses because the first eight minutes of the premiere starts in a hospital. Dr. Floyd is hard to find in the scene, but she promises it was her in the background working with patients. “I was not star struck at all,” Dr. Floyd said. “The actors and actresses were super nice and down-to-earth…I had a fun day [and] it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” In the end, Dr. Floyd said it was an exciting adventure and something she will always remember. The experience though, isn‘t enough to make her want to go into acting. Nursing is where her heart is. “It does feel good, but honestly the feeling of being on the show doesn’t compare to taking care of a family or a patient it just doesn’t,” Dr. Floyd said. “I mean it, I am sincere when I say that having a light bulb go off for a student and having them understand something.”
