Glee's Dot Marie Jones is going to jail — and Chelsea Handler is going with her.
Jones will make a guest-appearance in the NBC comedy pilot based on Handler's book, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea, TVGuide.com has learned.
After landing in jail for a D.U.I., Chelsea (Laura Prepon) meets a tough lesbian bully (Jones), whom she befriends in a surprising way. Jones' part was originally written with Roseanne Barr in mind.
The 47-year-old actress, who plays football Coach Beiste on Fox's Glee, previously appeared on Married... with Children, Nip/Tuck, Desperate Housewives and Prison Break.
Executive-produced by Handler, who will play her own older sister in the pilot, Vodka also stars Mark Povinelli, Jo Koy, Natalie Morales, Angela Laketa Moore, Lenny Clarke and Lauren Lapkus.
source: tvguide.com
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Dot Marie Jones
Where you've seen her before: Where haven't you seen her? Dot Marie Jones most recently made headlines when she was cast on Fox's "Glee" as Coach Shannon Beiste (pronounced "beast"), a role created for her as a foil to Jane Lynch's snarky Sue Sylvester. But Jones has a long list of credits playing the "muscular woman" type, with roles on "Hawthorne," "Prison Break," "Lizzie McGuire," and Ryan Murphy's "Nip/Tuck." Being typecast, however, doesn't faze her. "I was probably in an orange jumpsuit six times in the past three years," she jokes. "If it's paying my bills, let them bring it." After three episodes of "Nip/Tuck," Jones landed the role of a transgender man on Murphy's "Pretty/Handsome," the "Glee" co-creator's pilot for FX. "I went from 5-foot-6 to 6-foot-1 in eighth grade, so I was always tall and always bigger, and people always looked and stared at me," Jones says. "It's kind of what Coach Beiste is going through in the first episode: being looked at like she's a freak and people messing with her."
Upcoming projects: Jones has five episodes of "Glee" booked and is ready for the media onslaught that comes with being on the ratings juggernaut. "It's pretty amazing when you see it. And then to live it, it's beyond my wildest dreams," she says. "I'm afraid I'm going to wake up." Can "Glee" handle two snarky coaches? "Oh, heck yeah," Jones says. "Coach Beiste is almost someone to put Jane in her place, but then I try to be tough but have a soft, vulnerable side, and she thinks she's going to take control. I know she has some emotional stuff going on from growing up big—kind of like my real life—but I don't think there's any soft spots on Coach Beiste that have come up." In 2011's "Bad Teacher," with Cameron Diaz, Eric Stonestreet, Jason Segel, and Molly Shannon, Jones goes out on a limb and plays a gym trainer who sells steroids. "Yeah, that was a stretch," she jokes.
Dressing the part: Jones had zero acting experience when a friend and fellow bodybuilder—Shirley Eson of "American Gladiators"—suggested that she audition for "Knights and Warriors," a 1992 series that was casting athletic women. After sailing through the agility tests, Jones got a call to come back the next day for a cold read. "I asked what I should wear, since I'd never auditioned or did any theater," she recalls. The casting director "said to wear my best warrior outfit. So I got a sweatshirt and cut it up, and I had some zebra-print workout pants that I wore—this was 1991—and I went in thinking, 'What the hell is this cold read? Are we reading in a freezer or something?' I had no idea what that meant." Twenty-six episodes later, Jones had an agent—whom she's still with—and booked a "muscular woman" role on "Full House."
Giving thanks: Jones, who studied criminology at Fresno State, which she attended on a track scholarship as a shot-putter, keeps it simple and is grateful for the work. "I cannot believe it's been 19 years since I did 'Knights and Warriors,' " she says. And when lightning doesn't strike—like when "Pretty/Handsome" wasn't picked up—she keeps things in perspective: "It was really sad, but then I thought that something would happen with it or something better would come along. If it weren't for 'Pretty/Handsome,' I wouldn't be on 'Glee' right now. If that was a steppingstone for me to get to 'Glee,' then by God I'll take it. There's 5,000 women who would take my spot in one minute, and I know that. I'm so thankful for what I'm doing."
—Lesley Goldberg
source: backstage.com
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