NATCHEZ — For Dunbar Flinn, the world stopped getting polite and started getting real last year.

Natchez resident Flinn attended an MTV Real World casting call in Oxford, but did not plan on actually getting called back to be on the reality show. The show brings seven strangers together to live in a home.

“I was never really serious about the whole thing until they flew me to L.A. and it finally sunk in,” Flinn said.

After auditioning in Oxford, he had a second interview in Memphis with casting directors. After one final interview in Los Angeles, he was named a finalist in December.

In February, he flew to Sydney, Australia, for four months in order to begin filming the show. When he arrived, he had no idea where he would be living or who he would be living with.

“The producers of the show are very strict about contact between members of the cast. It was a huge surprise when I arrived,” Flinn said.

The show is famous for its drama, brawls and clashes. The cast is usually very diverse in ethnicity, opinion and background. In Flinn’s case, it was not a problem.

“There are two guys, we bonded and got along really well, but there were also four very different personalities with the girls,” Flinn said. “The guys were all pretty rational, and we were the pillar of responsibility in the house.”

Filming for the 19th season took place Feb. to May in Sydney.

The first of 24 episodes aired Wednesday afternoon.