By now many of you may have seen my cameo appearance in last week’s episode of “Empire” and trust me, I still can’t believe it’s real.  When I first got the call from my agent letting me know I’d been invited onto the show (wow, “Empire”?  Like THE “Empire”?), I wanted to scream…and loudly!  Not only is the hip hop soap a smash hit series but it also happens to be one of my favorite viewing pleasures in a long, long time!  The fact that they wanted me to play myself made it even more surreal, especially as some of the biggest stars on the planet have been courting creators, directors, producers, et al, hoping they themselves will land a guest star position.   Obviously, the answer was yes…yes, yes, YES!  No matter what other obligations I had on the upcoming shoot date, it was time to clear my schedule for something way more important.

Now, as you know, a picture speaks a thousand words so I’d to share with you guys some of my favorite snapshots from my incredible experience on set.  After flying out to Chicago first class and waking up at 3.45am to start the day, which would prove to be one of the most exciting of my life, here are some of the moments I captured and that I’ll never forget.

In the hair and makeup trailer I first got to meet Jussie who plays Jamal and Rafael who plays Michael.  The two of them made me feel totally at home (Jussie’s faux British accent that he likes to put on every morning for some unknown reason probably helped).

My cameo role involved me interviewing Jamal Lyon for my own talk show “Spilling The Tea” (Tone Boots and I came up with that name).  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this monitor, the crew laminates, equipment stickers, etc. – the attention to detail was crazy!

Once we got going I was able to experience Jussie performing the track over and over again and I still couldn’t get enough of it.  This song is just destined to be a hit!

One question people keep asking me is if I felt nervous during my acting debut.  Well, not until I realized I was doing it in front of an academy award winning actress – Taraji P. Henson!

Director Dee Rees took some of the pressure off by telling me “don’t worry if you f*ck up your lines”.  Thanks Dee!  It was great to watch an ubertalented female director in action.

Lee Daniels wasn’t there but his co-creator, Danny Strong, was on set.  We had an insightful chat about his concerns and excitement for Season 2.

Shooting the two scenes I was involved with took around 10 hours and although I enjoyed every second of it, I have a new found respect for actors and their grueling hours.  Thank goodness Cassie, my stand-in, was there in between takes.

These slippers were my other saving grace! (Manolos can burn your tootsies a little bit after the first 5 hours).

I had to sneak in some selfies before the shoot was over.

What an amazing day – especially as everyone told me I knocked it out the park (the best compliment ever coming from star actors and seasoned producers).  Went back to my hotel feeling proud of myself, took a selfie to remember the moment and then passed out from sheer excitement and exhaustion.