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ake Pavelka has had many doses of reality, from courting Jillian Harris on the Bachelorette and wooing Vienna Giraldi on the Bachelor to two-stepping on Dancing With the Stars. Now Pavelka will get his fiction on as a “bachelor type” on Lifetime’s comedy-drama Drop Dead Diva.

Pavelka will guest star as Toby Davlin, a suitor on Finding the One, a dating show whose producer is being sued for “intentionally inflicting emotional harm” when Toby spurns one bachelorette for another.

He begins shooting his scenes on June 18; his episode, called “Good Grief,” is slated to air Aug. 22. “I am honored to be a part of Drop Dead Diva this season,” Pavelka says, “and cannot wait to meet the cast and crew.”

“When Jake came into the office to audition for the role,” says creator and executive producer Josh Berman, “the whole production came to a stop. Everyone wanted to talk with him. He was so gracious and charming. He was spot-on and won the role in the room.”

Not a novice to non-reality, Pavelka once pursued an acting career under the name Jake Landrum, even being cast on Walker, Texas Ranger as a young version of Chuck Norris‘s Cordell Walker in flashback scenes.

However, it’s Pavelka’s most recent line of work that will help him the most. “When we spoke about his shooting dates,” Berman says, “he told us that he would be coming from Texas and could be on the set by noon. Since he was a former [commercial] pilot, he still remembered the flying schedule!”