Leslie Jordan reveals backstory for his iconic 'Will & Grace' character Beverley Leslie

Leslie Jordan charmed audiences for years as a character actor on multiple, popular television shows. One of his most unforgettable roles was his portrayal of the larger-than-life socialite Beverley Leslie on NBC’s “Will & Grace.”

During an appearance on TODAY on June 20, 2008, the late actor —who died on Monday, Oct. 24, at the age of 67 — revealed to Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford how he landed the gig.

He shared that the guest role was originally intended for another famous diva.

“Well, 'Will & Grace,' they had written this episode for Joan Collins,” he said at the time. “This is a true story. They’d written this episode for Joan Collins where she was gonna steal Rosario (Shelley Morrison) away from Karen Walker, the Megan Mullally character. And then they were gonna have a ‘Dynasty’ catfight, pull each other’s wigs off.”

Collins had appeared on Season Two of "Will & Grace" as Helena Barnes, a rival member of Walker's social circle. But when producers approached her to join an episode in Season Three, while she first was excited, Jordan said Collins changed her mind at the last minute.

Jordan explained, “Joan Collins’ people said, ‘Well, you can’t really pull her wig off, you know.’ And they said, ‘But that’s the joke.’”

Thankfully for him, it meant that the part was available.

“So, my agent called me and said, ‘Run over there real quick. Get that white suit that John Ritter gave you when you were on ‘Hearts Afire,’” he recalled.

He continued, “But, unbeknownst to me, the character was already named Beverley Leslie. The character was already, (the script) said, ‘a tiny Truman Capote-esque man with a southern in a white suit.’”

There was no denying he was the perfect person for the role, which was supposed to be only for that one episode.

“I walked in chattering like castanets,” he said. “And they didn’t even audition me. They go, ‘Yep. That’s it. You’re it.’”

After filming the first episode, Jordan’s agent called him and said that the sitcom wanted him for more episodes, including one where Ellen DeGeneres played a nun.

“And I did another one. And then won the Emmy,” he concluded, referring to his 2006 Emmy win for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.

Earlier this week, "Will & Grace" executive producer Jeff Greenstein also shared the backstory of the creation of the role, providing additional insight and details.

"We cooked up a story in which Helena tries to steal Karen’s beloved Rosario away from her,” Greenstein explained. “The episode climaxed with a high-stakes game of billiards, with the winner getting to ‘keep’ the housekeeper. Now, Helena had been abrasive before, but in writing this episode we pushed her much, much further. And when Joan read the finished script, she passed. Emphatically. Although she’d sloppily eaten tacos in her first episode, this was a bridge too far."

Greenstein explained that instead of trashing a "promising storyline," the writers “decided to simply develop another rival for Karen.”

“And I believe it was (series co-creator) Max Mutchnick who started talking about ‘Beverley Leslie,’ a deeply closeted gay man living off an unseen sugar-mama wife named Crystal," Greenstein said. "We took the Collins script, did a simple search-and-replace of ‘Helena’ with ‘Beverley,’ polished up a line or two, and casting director Tracy Lilienfield proceeded to work her magic. And from the moment Leslie Jordan stepped on our stage, we knew we’d found gold. Not only was Leslie a comedic genius, and his repartee with Megan Mullally delicious, but his Southernness added a flavor to the show which was irresistible. Any time he wandered into an episode, he brought us a touch of Tennessee Williams.”

Throughout the show’s initial run from 1998 until 2006, the scene-stealer appeared in 13 episodes. Beverley Leslie also returned when the series was revived in 2017. Jordan was featured in four more episodes before “Will & Grace” aired its series finale in 2020.

On Monday, Oct. 25, a spokesperson for Jordan confirmed to TODAY that the actor had died after crashing his car into the side of a building in Hollywood. It is suspected that he experienced a medical emergency before his death.

In a statement, the spokesperson praised Jordan and said, “What he lacked in height he made up for in generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, partner and human being. Knowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today.”

After hearing the news of his death, many of his former co-stars and celebrity friends, including the cast of “Will & Grace,” paid tribute to the comedian.

Sean Hayes uploaded an Instagram photo of the two on the set of the comedy and said, “My heart is broken. Leslie Jordan was one of the funniest people I ever had the pleasure of working with. Everyone who ever met him, loved him.”

He added, “There will never be anyone like him. A unique talent with an enormous, caring heart. Leslie, you will be missed, my dear friend.”

Mullally shared a photo from a 2017 episode, writing on Instagram that her “heart is breaking.”

“I really can’t believe it. leslie jordan was, hands down, one of the greats. people use that expression a lot, and i’m not sure it’s always applicable. there aren’t that many people who are truly great at anything. but leslie was flawlessly funny, a virtuoso of comedy. his timing, his delivery, all apparently effortless. you can’t get any better than that,” Mullally wrote.

She later added, “And so. love you, leslie. miss you already. and one thing i know for sure… there will never ever be another you.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com