Lexis D’Ville made a name for herself on the MS Coast. Next stop? NOLA and ‘Queer As Folk’
It was only going to be three days.
Autherius Lawson, also known on the Coast as drag queen Lexis Redd D’Ville, had booked a gig to be a dancer in the new “Queer As Folk” reboot that filmed this year in New Orleans.
“I was going to go dance on this show for three days then come back to little old Mississippi,” Lawson told the Sun Herald on Thursday afternoon.
But three days turned into three weeks. Then three months.
Before he knew it, Lawson and a friend were signing a lease and moving into an apartment in the Garden District.
“I’ve now been in New Orleans for seven months,” the Gulfport native said. “And the opportunities keep coming.”
Filming ‘Queer as Folk’ in NOLA
Lawson, who has a background in theater and has been performing as Lexis Redd D’Ville for years across the South, originally auditioned for a leading role on “Queer As Folk,” a drag queen named Bussey Horewood.
Lawson didn’t get the part, but was offered a role as a dancer.
But after his first day on set, producers asked for Lawson’s height.
“They asked, ‘Have you ever done any stand-in work?’” Lawson said, and he hadn’t. But over the next four months, he would fill in as actor Devin Way’s stand-in during filming.
Way, who has been on shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” plays Brodie on the new “Queer As Folk” series that’s set in New Orleans.
In total, Lawson spent about five and a half months on set and said it was an eye-opening experience.
“This has been the most inclusive set, the most respectful set for people of color, and (staff) respecting gender identity,” Lawson said.
“One of the eye-opening things I really liked about (the set crew) was that nobody was afraid to ask you a question. I’d rather you ask a question than make an assumption.”
While Lawson doesn’t have a speaking role, he is a featured dancer in one of the episodes, and Lexis Redd D’Ville makes a few “hi and bye” cameos.
Lawson got to meet A-list celebrities like Kim Cattrall and Juliette Lewis and loved working with Way and other actors and drag queens on set. He said he was proud to be part of such an inclusive cast.
“They represent so many people of color,” he said. “There’s an accurate transgender representation that has been very much needed.” Lawson said the show also touches on deadnaming and includes LGBTQ+ people with disabilities.
The drag scene on the Coast, New Orleans
While Lawson and his drag persona are spreading their proverbial wings in New Orleans, the Mississippi Coast is not forgotten.
D’Ville still performs monthly at the popular White Pillars drag show in Biloxi, and is hosting shows and Pride events at SIPPS Bar.
Other drag queens with roots in the Deep South, including Tara Shay Montgomery of Gulfport, have cameos on the show.
D’Ville is also the operator of a new monthly drag brunch at the House of Blues in New Orleans that also stars Ivy Dripp (Cut Off, Louisiana), Alexa Avery (Gulfport), Sonika Boom (Gulfport), London Manchester and Connie Hung.
Lawson is continuing to find work and make connections in New Orleans, but he said he’ll continue coming home to Gulfport to support the local LGBTQ+ community.
“I’m always going to try to make sure I build up home,” he said.
The first season of the “Queer As Folk” reboot is now streaming on Peacock.
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 5:50 AM.
