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After returning to ABC with a role on RJ Decker, former Dancing With the Stars contestant Elaine Hendrix broke down her shocking story line.
The Tuesday, September 29, episode of the show picked up with Emi (Jaina Lee Ortiz) being accused of dad Victor’s (David Zayas) murder. RJ (Scott Speedman) tried to solve the case by finding who was actually responsible — and that turned out to be Hendrix’s character District Attorney Lake.
“I knew going into it what was happening,” Hendrix, 55, exclusively told Us about the major reveal. “But I only had the first episode, which just sort of teased me. I love that it got so complicated with twists and turns.”
Hendrix enjoyed the challenge, adding, “I do want to say in my defense, I don’t think I’ve ever played a murdereress. I am known for — and I think my specialty is playing duplicitous characters. So I do hope, though, that there are at least some people out there who are like, ‘No, she didn’t do it. It would be too obvious. No, she did do it because it is her.’”
She continued: “I hope that there was a debate going — especially as the episode goes. Because when I watched it, I thought I made a very convincing case that I really didn’t do it. I’m always honored when I get to play very special roles. So the fact that this was tied to such a huge ending, I was very honored to do that.”
Despite District Attorney Lake getting arrested, Hendrix could see herself coming back.
“I’m getting that a lot and I got that on set as well. She’s got to have some kind of information that R.J. is gonna need and visit her in prison at some point,” she said. “Listen, I’ve signed up for two episodes.”
Elaine Hendrix (C) Disney/Dana Hawley
Hendrix’s appearance on RJ Decker came one week after pros Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy performed in the season 2 premiere — while season 33 winner Joey Graziadei appeared in a scripted role.
“I was very happy with this role. I would have much rather have done this and let the pros shine in their dance spot,” Hendrix told Us. “But when I first got there, everyone was like, ‘Well we have the dancers coming in to film.’ I was like, ‘No one told me that. That’s so fun.’ So I just, I love that they’re like keeping it in the family.”
Looking ahead, Hendrix pitched a return that would be DWTS-themed, adding, “RJ has some fever dream where Janice is killing people while she’s dancing and it’s a tango.”
Hendrix would also love to keep it in the ABC family by appearing in other shows on the network. She suggested a role as Kaitlin Olson‘s sister on High Potential — and weighed in on a possible cameo on former Parent Trap costar Lisa Ann Walter‘s hit series Abbott Elementary.
“I got a few ins but that doesn’t always translate to jobs. Everybody has their own visions, their own ideas and their own plans for their shows,” she noted. “I do trust that if something came along that made sense, I would absolutely get that phone call. But if I don’t, totally understandable. Lisa and I … our friendship is going to keep friendshiping and we have our own projects and things going on. So people will get their fix of us.”
RJ Decker airs on ABC Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
