You may know him as Beverley Leslie, Brother Boy, or even Mr. Blackly from The Help, but this 4’11” actor is named Leslie Jordan and he wants you to know it! Hailing from Chattanooga, Jordan is a fierce queen and gay icon. Known to make appearances throughout Atlanta, Jordan will be back in town Nov. 23–24 with frequent collaborator Del Shores as part of a charity event for AID Atlanta. I got the chance to chat with Jordan about his favorite roles, his upcoming appearances in American Horror Story: Coven and more!
You’re coming into town Nov. 23 – 24 for an event for AID Atlanta. How did that come about?
The head of AID Atlanta came down and asked my agency what it would cost to get me and, of course, my agency gave an astronomical quote of what I cost. But it’s a benefit for AIDS, so you don’t want to pay your entertainment too much, right? So, he actually flew to New Orleans where I was shooting American Horror Story, and I gave him a much lower quote, money wise. And I know some people think that I should do this for free, since it’s charity, but this is my bread and butter! This is all I do! But it will be a fun night full of comedy with Del Shores and me!
What do you like most about Atlanta? What keeps you coming back here?
Well, I’m from Chattanooga, so I practically grew up there! There was a restaurant called Kitty Cat’s Porch, and we would drive down there when I was a kid to eat. That place actually had the very first salad bar I ever saw, and I thought it was just the neatest thing! (Laughs) And then I left home at 17, for Atlanta and that’s when I came out of the closet – in ’73 or ’74. So, over the years, any chance I get to come back to Atlanta, I take it.
There’s something about Atlanta that I really love! If you go out in L.A., let’s say you go out in West Hollywood, all the boys have an agenda. They’ve planned their outfits, and they’re hoping to get discovered, or meet a producer. Everybody’s trying to slip you a script to read, that kind of stuff. You can go anywhere in Atlanta, like Blake’s, and it’s just cute boys in flip-flops and shorts in the summertime. I just really love the Midtown area.
I love everything about Atlanta, I just don’t know if I could live there. If I moved back down south, I’d probably move closer to my mother, up near Chattanooga. Or even move up to the mountains of North Carolina. I have such a big life here in California that I don’t think I could leave it, but I do love visiting Atlanta!
So you mentioned that you moved out to Atlanta at 17. How did you get your start? What was your “big break”?
Well, I didn’t start acting for many years. I got into racehorses, actually. I worked as an exercise racer up in a tiny town north of Atlanta called Cartersville. After that, I went to Miami and New York and worked with horses everywhere. Then, I went back to school when I was 27 at the University of Tennessee, and I got a degree in theater. After I graduated, I moved out to California. And for the first five years I was out there, I did mainly commercials. I had a really huge commercial career, I was kind of like that girl on the Progressive commercials; everyone knew me from my different commercials.
I would say my “big break” would be a TV show called Murphy Brown. It was a really funny part. [Jordan played one of Murphy’s legion of secretaries during the show’s first season.] And the day after it aired, my agent called me and was like “Everybody’s on the phone right now. Steven Spielberg wants to work with you, Burt Reynolds saw it, Pee Wee Herman saw it.” And I’ve heard of overnight success, but I’ve never actually seen it happen until then. So I guess I would have to say Murphy Brown was my big break.
Do you feel that being an openly gay man has hindered your career at all?
Well, ya know, it was funny. When I got to L.A. in ’82, it was very wink, wink, nudge, nudge. All the casting directors were gay, the producers were gay, my agents were gay. And they would tell me “Don’t be so gay now. Keep your feet on the ground. Put your voice in a lower register, we can’t have all that carrying on!” And so I don’t think it really hindered it, because I’m a character actor. If I had been a young leading man like Zac Efron then it might have made a difference. But I was so character anyway. The fact that I was a little sissy was a selling point, ya know?
But they had different names for it back then. They would say a “mama’s boy” or someone a little “nebbish” or a little “fey”, cause they would want someone gay without them actually saying the word GAY. And then there came a time where everyone wanted a gay person on their TV show, but they would say “we want you to be a little more like Niles on Frasier.” He wasn’t even gay on that show! I mean, he’s gay in real life but gay to them was very urbane and witty. So they’d constantly tell me to act this way or this way and I was like “Honey! You can’t tell me how to be gay! I came out of my mama’s womb and landed in her high heels, honey!”
So, out of everything that you’ve ever worked on, what has been your favorite experience?
My favorite part was a movie called Sordid Lives. Have you ever seen it? I know you’re a bit young.
Of course! That’s part of my gay trifecta along with 9 to 5 and To Wong Foo!
Well, there you go! The reason that I think it’s my favorite part is cause I’ve have been able to work with people like Del Shores who have allowed me to do my thing. Like, right now, with American Horror Story, it’s very set. They know what they want the character to be like, to wear. With Del Shores, I have an open reign; I have a say. Brother Boy actually started as a short story that Del wrote, as well as a couple of others. And he called me one day and said that he had put all these stories together into a play. We did a reading of Sordid Lives, the play, and the next day I met him at the dog park, and I told him it was too much, that he needed to toss it. It was so all over the place. Now, in my defense, it didn’t have the funeral scene yet, which tied everything in so nicely! I told him to toss it, but I’m glad he didn’t listen to me! (Laughs)
And then, of course, second would be Beverley Leslie from Will & Grace, beause I had so much fun with that part; it was so silly.
Which actually leads me right into my next question! How did it feel to win an Emmy for Best Guest Actor against people like Martin Sheen and Patrick Stewart?
The Emmy that I won was given away at the Creative Arts Emmys, which is not the “Emmy” Emmys. And I didn’t even know that! I flew my mother out, paid $500 for a pretty new dress & the only one on the red carpet was Kathy Griffin! (Laughs) I said “Well, where are all the big stars?” and they said the Emmys weren’t until next week and I said “Well, what the fuck is this?!” (Laughs) But in my speech, I was so happy that I had won that I said in my speech, “There’s two ways to combat homophobia, that I know of. One is humor, which I learned in sixth grade when we had to play dodgeball. And two, is to put a face on it.” And I think when the history of the gay community is written, people will look at Will & Grace as a turning point. Things really changed radically during those four–five years. And I think it’s because the culture had a face. They accepted those characters. They laughed, they loved, they were normal people. I was so honored to be a part of it; even a small part. So, to have won that Emmy was amazing!
Awesome! Well, my last question for you is what can you tell us about your role on the hit show American Horror Story: Coven?
(Laughs) Not a whole lot! These people have threatened me with my life, if I tell you anything! All I can tell you is that I’m a warlock, I’m on a council and you’re just gonna have to watch to see!
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Be sure to check out Leslie Jordan on American Horror Story: Coven Wednesday nights on FX. Also, be sure to catch him with Del Shores at the 14th Street Playhouse on Nov. 23 and at Lips Atlanta on Nov. 24. Follow him on Twitter at @TheLeslieJordan!
And to purchase tickets, click here: http://www.