EDMOND — A former Edmond resident will make her debut on prime time television tonight as a co-star on a “Criminal Minds” episode, “The Big Wheel,” which starts at 8 p.m. central time on the CBS network.

Jill Klopp, an Edmond North High School and University of Oklahoma graduate, will die on screen as Michelle Watson, a real estate agent stabbed to death by one of her clients.

“It’s a crime drama on CBS where the detectives try to catch the killer through psychological experiments,” she said. “They try to get into the minds of the killer.”

Steve Klopp, Jill’s father, said he and his wife, Jody, were a bit shocked by the visual images of their daughter in the clutches of a killer when they saw the trailer at the end of last week’s episode of “Criminal Minds.”

He said he is proud of his daughter’s accomplishments and appreciates both the “real Jill” and the persona she will play on television.

Jill Klopp said the on-screen dying process wasn’t what she expected.

“It’s much more simple than I envisioned, but it was cool,” she said. “You run the stab scene a few times without any blood or gore.”

She said for the final take she had a blood packet in hand which she pressed down on when she felt the pressure of the fake knife through a protective corset she wore. She also had to bite down on a blood packet in her mouth.

“It’s a really sweet syrup and it’s gross,” Klopp said.

She said she really enjoyed working with her “killer,” Alex O’Loughlin, who has guest starred in multiple television series, including “The Shield” and “Moonlight.” He also has had roles in several movies, including “August Rush” and “The Invisible.” Klopp said she’d like to follow the same career path as O’Loughlin.

Klopp has lived in Los Angeles ever since she graduated from OU in 2005. She also has co-starred on “Diagnosis X,” a medical drama on TLC, and “My Boys,” a comedy on TBS, which will premiere in about a month.

The actress also has played roles in movies, commercials and theater productions.

“The name of the game for me is booking as many of these roles as possible,” Klopp said. “A lot of people don’t realize that your agent works really hard for you, but you have to ultimately make things happen for yourself.”

She said she met the casting director for “Criminal Minds” two years ago and continued to send her e-mails every time she was cast in a role or accomplished something in her career. Klopp said she finally got a call for an audition.

Her ultimate goal is to be a regular on a television series. She said in order to achieve this she must be cast as a guest star, which usually happens after an actress or actor has been cast five or six times as a co-star.

“It takes the right audition at the right time,” Klopp said. “You have to gain experience as a guest star. Almost every serious regular you see on TV now has been in the business for ten years.”

Klopp said she has multiple auditions every week and sometimes has two in one day.

“This business works very, very fast,” she said. “You have to be flexible and you have to be able to work and prepare very quickly.”

The weirdest job Klopp has had was posing for the cover of a dating book.

“I had to be in a bathtub with bubbles looking like I was reading this book,” Klopp said. “It was really awkward. I was physically uncomfortable to be in this bath tub reading this book.”

While living in L.A., she has learned a lot about different acting genres. For example, “Two-and-a-half Men” is a multi-camera sitcom filmed with a live audience in the studio, while “The Office” is a one-camera sitcom with no live audience.

“Those actors are using completely different acting techniques so you have to be aware of how to deliver those skills,” Klopp said.

She said if she could be a regular on any show it would have been “That ’70s Show.” Klopp said she likes comedy but it currently is more of a boys’ club, so she has done a lot of drama.

Klopp stresses the importance of a college education to any aspiring actress or actor.

“If you are looking to be a professional in any field that you want to be the best at, you should have some sort of education,” she said. “Acting, like anything, isn’t something you can just try to do and succeed. Education is extremely important to succeed.”