This 'Will & Grace' Fan Fave Was Actually Written for Joan Collins

Here's an interesting queer TV history fact you probably didn't know: the iconic Will & Grace character Beverly Leslie (played by the incredible Leslie Jordan) was actually supposed to be played by Dame Joan Collins!

We fell in love with Jordan's flamboyantly closeted addition to the Will & Grace family as soon as we saw him (and even when he was only featured on 12 episodes of the original run with NBC). Not only that, Jordan was raised to the coveted throne of fan favorite when the actor recieved an Emmy award for his work on the comedy hit.

But Beverly Leslie was originally written for our queen of sass and class Joan Collins, as was discovered in a recent interview with Instinct Magazine where Jordan revealed the shocking surprise orgin of the role.

"The point was for her to steal Rosario the maid away from Megan Mullally’s character and then they would have a big Dynasty cat fight," he said. "But then Ms Collins couldn’t do it, so they just changed the character and I went out and auditioned."

Collins, however, did end making a guest appearence on one of the show's original episodes. Even still, one can daydream about how amazing our Lady Collins would have been as a recurring star...

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