Memories From The Set: D.J. 'Shangela' Pierce
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2 BROKE GIRLS
"[2 Broke Girls creator] Michael Patrick King had cast me in A Mann's World, which was an NBC pilot that we knew was going to series," Pierce recalls. "When it didn't, I remember him saying to me, 'I think you're comedy gold. I want to cast you in something else, and I promise I'll come back to you." Sure enough, King circled back in 2012 and Pierce snagged the role of sassy movie theater usher Hallelujah. "Kat Dennings was a big Drag Race fan, so we had a little kiki and I had a little kiki," Pierce says. "And she ended up coming on as a judge!"
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BONES
In fact, "I was on Bones in pretty much the same role, just a different wig," Pierce says. He appeared in the 2014 episode "The Drama in the Queen" as a drag performer named — wait for it — Kimmy Moore. "I think they all think I'm that diva in the dressing room that just might commit the crime."
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COMMUNITY
Pierce will forever cherish his appearance on a 2011 episode of Community for one simple reason: "I got to record my own song for that!" (Never mind that it was a fake commercial for Hawthorne Wipes, a brand of moist toilettes invented by Chevy Chase's character's father.)
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GLEE
"I was so nervous," Pierce admits of joining Sarah Jessica Parker for a group performance of Scissor Sisters' "Let's Have a Kiki" on a 2012 episode of Glee. "I didn't want to scare her, but I leaned over and told her that I loved her — and she looks at me goes, 'Oh, Shangela, I know who you are.' ... I fell out!" It turned out SJP's hairdresser on the set of her most recent movie had kept Drag Race playing on loop in the trailer. "We had lunch together on the set, she talked about campaigning for Obama and she gave me her e-mail address," Pierce adds. "Not her number, but that's next."
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TERRIERS
Pierce's first scripted TV role came in 2010 via FX's short-lived Terriers. "I played Mikaela, a hooker with a heart of gold who was working with the police to help find her friend's killer," Pierce recalls. He vividly remembers two things about the gig: First, he was excited to get to work in and out of drag ("It gave me a little extra boost"), and second, he found himself obsessing over his scene partner's name. "I couldn't stop saying it! All three of his names — Michael Raymond Jaaaames!"
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THE MENTALIST
"I played a member of a drag queen performance group" in a 2012 episode of The Mentalist, Pierce recalls. "They thought I committed a murder, but I didn't. ... You know, I find myself playing that role a lot."
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THE X-FILES
A fan of The X-Files since Day 1, Pierce was thrilled to snag the guest-starring role of Annabelle in a 2016 episode. He vividly recalls arriving to the Vancouver set and seeking warmth — as well as the awkwardness that ensued: "I get into the tent, loud and carrying on, and it's just Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Just the two of them sitting next to the heater in director's chairs. I said, 'Ooh, Ms. Anderson, Mr. Duchovny, you don't mind if I squeeze in here with you, do you, babies? Sorry I'm dressed like a prostitute at a truck stop." But the real party started, Pierce says, "when they brought out that were-monster in the tighty whities."
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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Of course, some of Pierce's characters have been guilty — like the jewel thief he played on a 2013 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful. "My grandmother will watch any episode of a show I'm on, but she watches her soap operas every day," Pierce says. "When I was on The Bold and the Beautiful, you would have thought I had won an Oscar. She told everybody at church that I was on her favorite soap. I even got her autographed 8x10s from some of the cast. I had to! It was a wonderful experience."