It started out as a two-episode run, but it was easy to see that former Coloradan Scott Elrod's character, Cash, on the hit ABC series, Men in Trees, would bring the show's female audience to its knees. Men in Trees already had plenty of buzz. After all, it was positioned to follow that other ABC hit, Grey's Anatomy, which has forever burned the references, "McDreamy" and "McSteamy," into women's vocabulary to describe "hot" men.

Enter Cash, whose first appearance on the show featured a much-talked-about bathtub scene, which quickly earned the nickname, "McNudey." Viewers were introduced to the hot, new mountain man, who might come between co-stars Anne Heche (as Marin) and James Tupper (Jack, also known as "McTreeMe.")

Now fans had a new "Mc" to moon over. It wasn't long before Elrod got the call saying he was signed for the second season.

It's a career-making move for the local actor.

Recently, Elrod returned home for an exclusive photo shoot and interview with Denver Magazine(R) to let us know how he got his great gig, how it's going and to give us the scoop from the set of Men in Trees.

Elrod moved to Denver with his family in 1987. Now, he's based in L.A., but his family still resides in Parker. He attended Northeast Elementary, graduated from Ponderosa High and later attended Metro State College.

Elrod joined the Colorado National Guard in 1994, where he worked as an air traffic controller.

Air traffic controller? Yes, really.

"Piper one, runway three-two, wheels down, clear to land," he joked.

It was in his blood. Elrod was born in Germany, where his father – (and later his step father) were both pilots in the Air Force.

"The plan was to go fly F-16s like my dads," he said. "So I went into the military, did six years of air traffic control, which was the closest thing to being a pilot."

Elrod needed a four-year college degree to fly, but before he could finish school, he realized the military wasn't his deal.

The next few years included a marriage, and divorce, and stints in high-tech sales, the mortgage industry and modeling.

The memory of seeing Tom Cruise in Top Gun made Elrod realize acting always had been in the back of his mind.

In April of 2004, he took a chance and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career.

He enrolled in acting classes, got a manager, an agent and soon got some bit parts on CSI: N.Y. and Days of Our Lives.

In 2006, Elrod took a role on My Network TV's, Desire, an American telenovela. It didn't last long, but it was great on-the-job training.

In December of 2006, while auditioning for a role on the CBS series NCIS, the Men in Trees casting office happened to be in the same building.

Elrod crossed paths with a casting director he worked with before.

"Why aren't you on Men in Trees," she asked?

"I've never even heard of Men in Trees," he said.

"It's this great show. It's like Northern Exposure meets Sex and The City. It takes place in Alaska and you're all scruffy … it's a bunch of scruffy good-looking guys," she said.

In January 2007, Elrod met with the director and casting agent.

The next day, Elrod's manager called. "Pack your bags, you're going up (to film in Vancouver, Canada)," he said.

The rest is history.

Unfortunately, because of the writer's strike, only five episodes were filmed before the work shutdown. A sixth script was set to film on Jan. 16, after this interview occurred.

There's a lot happening with Cash in the upcoming episodes, and Elrod gives Men in Trees fans a preview of what to expect.

• Cash's illness is not life-threatening, but it could be.
• There's an interesting storyline with Mario Cantone's gay character on the show.
• There's some great stuff going on between Marin and Cash, which no doubt means confrontations between Cash and Jack.
• Cash starts to form relationships with other characters on the show – and perhaps there's a new love interest? Stay tuned.