Wannabe Soap Star Shamika Cotton on Criminal Intent

"The Wire" semi-regular Shamika Cotton says fans of the gritty HBO drama won't recognize her on tonight's episode of "Law & Order: CI," now on the USA Network. "I was so excited to get this role because she's something a lot closer to who I am," says the 2006 "I Wanna Be a Soap Star" semi-finalist, who's been playing a crack-addict mom on "The Wire," which returns for its fifth season in January.

"In 'L&O: CI,' I play a writer trapped between two worlds -- a gritty, urban life and a lavish circle. She's more youthful and more vibrant than my character on 'The Wire.' Plus, she's got fabulous clothes, and her hair was fierce!" Cotton adds with a laugh that she is occasionally recognized from "The Wire," "but if somebody recognizes me as Michael's mother on the street, I'm like, 'Do I look that bad?'" Fortunately, she says, more people "come up to me and say I saw you on 'Soap Star.'" She adds the reality competition show "was a huge jumpstart for my career."