The second season of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race was introduced with a brand-new format. This time, nine contestants entered the competition as their drag personas and only had their real identities revealed following their respective eliminations from the series. The format was similar to Fox’s hit show The Masked Singer, but it obviously had a fabulous drag-nific twist. The three drag personas that made it to the grand finale were Poppy Love, Chakra 7, and Thirsty von Trapp. In the end, these drag personas were revealed to be AJ McLean (Poppy), Tatyana Ali (Chakra), and Mark Indelicato (Thirsty).
Right before the airing of the Secret Celebrity Drag Race finale, PRIDE had the chance to catch up with Indelicato, who is best known for playing Justin Suarez on Ugly Betty and Damien on Hacks. “When I first started watching Drag Race with my friends, it was when Alaska’s season was airing,” the actor noted. “And so we loved Alaska, Alyssa Edwards, Trixie Mattel, Kennedy Davenport… the list goes on and on.”
Alas, it came as a shock for Indelicato to not only compete on Celebrity Drag Race but also make it as far as he did. He remarked, “My whole strategy was: just don’t get eliminated first. Just try your hardest not to get eliminated first. And then I didn’t. And as the season goes on and you’re working really hard and exhausting yourself mentally and physically, and learning choreography in that short amount of time… I didn’t even know that it was possible. So once you start putting all of that work in, you’re like, ‘Wait, no, I want to win! Like, I’m working really hard around here.’”
Despite having worked on TV ever since he was a little kid, Indelicato believes that competing on Secret Celebrity Drag Race was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my career.” The actor explained, “It was extremely taxing. I’m used to, as an actor, to working really hard and working long hours. But most of the time, it’s just emotionally taxing – remembering your lines, staying awake, being present. But then you add the physical element to it, and you add boobs, a corset, pads, a wig, tons of makeup, and heels… and it makes it infinitely harder.”
You can watch PRIDE’s exclusive interview with Indelicato below.
When it comes to HBO Max’s Hacks, Indelicato plays the personal assistant to Deborah Vance, brought to life by Hollywood legend Jean Smart. “She’s one of the funniest people I’ve met,” he remarked. “She will take the piss out of herself, take the piss out of you, take the piss out of ‘Joe Shmoe’ over there… I mean, she is funny.”
The actor also praised Smart as one of the legendary actresses he’s had the pleasure to work with in showbiz. He noted, “Having had in my career so many opportunities to work with such incredible living legends… I mean, Vanessa Williams and Judith Light to name the other two that I feel like qualify in this category… They’re all so generous with their time. And they’re all so generous with their talent, too.
He added, “Even though the show is about Deborah Vance, there’s not one day that I’ve ever been on set where Jean is only looking out for herself. She’s looking out for the way that everything is happening and that everyone looks good.”
Needless to say, Indelicato has had a phenomenal career despite his young age, and Secret Celebrity Drag Race sounds like the adventure of a lifetime for the actor!
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