On Thursday, March 17, actress/comedienne Sherri Shepherd makes a return appearance to the fan favorite sitcom 30 Rock in the episode "Queen of Jordan." Ms. Shepherd once again plays Angie Jordan, wife of Tracy Morgan's character, and host of her own reality show. In this episode, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is put in charge of an event for Angie in hopes that Liz can manipulate Angie into luring Tracy back from Africa.
In addition to her daily appearances on the hit daytime talk show The View, Ms. Shepherd can be seen hosting The Newlywed Game on the Game Show Network. She also has a pilot that will likely become a new series on TV Land, and will appear in the forthcoming feature film, One for the Money.
USTOWNHALL SPEAKS TO SHERRI SHEPHERD OF THE VIEW & 30 ROCK:
USTH: With all the things that you do – The View, The Newlywed Game, your TV guest appearances, and your upcoming movies and TV pilot, how do you balance your time?
Also, which fulfills you the most creatively whether it be stand up or Broadway or TV or movies or The View?
SHERRI SHEPHERD: My gosh you're talking about that person, and I'm like, "Who is that girl that you're talking about?" You know what? Each medium is so different, and I love doing it. I love doing everything. I love being on The View. That's something where I get to share my opinion and talk with girlfriends.
And then, I get to go over to the other side and play and be an actress and get to play this crazy, crazy person named Angie Jordan [on 30 Rock].
And then I get to go and do a film like Precious and bring out the dramatic side. So it is really fulfilling.
When I was a legal secretary and dreaming about this, in my wildest dreams I never thought that I would be blessed to do so many different things.
And do my stand up and make people laugh that really fulfills me. So can I say which one fulfills me the most? I can't answer that question because I just I love being able to do it. And I'm thankful that Barbara Walters gives me the time off to be able to do this.
USTH: If Tina Fey invited you, and you didn't have your upcoming pilot on TV Land, would you want to join 30 Rock as a regular cast member if it could be worked out with The View?
SHERRI SHEPHERD: You know what? Are you kidding me? In a heartbeat I would go over to 30 Rock. And you wouldn't even have to say anything. I'd be over there going, "Where's my dressing room? Give me the script and let me memorize my lines." I love that show.
USTH: As far as your upcoming pilot is concerned, is it going to be filmed in New York, and what is the premise of it?
SHERRI SHEPHERD: They will move it to New York, yes. So it absolutely would accommodate my View schedule. And, the tentative title of it is Soda Jerks. And it's about a woman, Christine Taylor who comes to a small Midwestern town and takes over and how we deal with this new woman coming in with these new ideas. And I'm one of the office workers in the sitcom.
USTH: If you had to choose between 30 Rock and The View, which is more intimidating to do for you, being with the cast of 30 Rock or being with the cast of The View?
SHERRI SHEPHERD: I would say being on The View. The cast? They're not intimidating. But, acting is what I've been doing for a long time and standup comedy.
So being on The View was probably a little bit more intimidating because sometimes you say your opinion, and you get in a lot of trouble.
Joy Behar said to me my first day, "As soon as you open your mouth, you're going to lose half your audience." And we have found that out.
You know, I give my opinion, and I get a lot of people who go, "I will never support you in anything you do," and then some people love it, some people hate it.
So that's always a little bit more intimidating to go out there every day and be fearless and state your truth and hope to goodness that everybody knows you and doesn't hate you that day.
USTH: When you do get negative feedback from the fans, how do you process that personally? Does it really hurt you, or have you been able to put that aside and go on with the job?
SHERRI SHEPHERD: You know, that's what I'm paid to do. I am paid to give my personal opinions. If I didn't – if none of those ladies sat at the table – if we didn't give our opinions, it'd be a pretty boring show.
So you have to learn to get a hard shell is what I would say. We don't take it personally. We get along really great because we respect each other, and I just learn to state what my truth is. My truth is not everybody's truth.
There's a lot of people who relate to each woman at that table. And so, I just learned to go out there and tell the truth as I see it, and I go home, and I let it go.
I can't worry about everybody who blogs and who disagrees with me and people who don't like me anymore.
The thing that I worry about is when I go home am I taking care of my son? That's the most important thing in my life. And, can I look in the mirror and go, "Yes, you did all right, Sherri."
USTH: Going back to 30 Rock, do you have any more appearances scheduled after this upcoming appearance? Also, you've been on a number of times so far, but is there any cast member of 30 Rock that you wish you had more scenes with that you haven't really had a chance to act opposite so far?
SHERRI SHEPHERD: Wow, I hope that they bring me back. We don't have anything right now in the pipeline, so I'm hoping that they bring me back.
Is there anybody that I would love to work with? [Jack] McBrayer, [who plays NBC page Kenneth Parcell].
I don't think I get enough scenes with McBrayer. But I get a lot of scenes with Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey and Tracy [Morgan]. So, I would say McBrayer is one of the ones that I really wish we could have some more scenes together.
I'd love to do a film with Tina Fey. I think we'd make a great duo in a film of Thelma and Louise.
USTH: Thanks to Sherri Shepherd for talking with us today. 30 Rock airs Thursday nights on NBC.
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