GLEE - The Sound of Music

It’s the funniest show we’ve seen in a long time, and its cast is just as hilarious in real life. We caught up with the kids from Glee during their recent trip to Australia...
Interviews by Demeter Stamell

READ OTHER INTERVIEWS WITH THE GLEE CAST:

Dianna Agron & Mark Salling – Quinn & Puck

Jenna Ushkowitz & Kevin McHale – Tina & Artie

Amber Riley & Chris Colfer – Mercedes & Kurt

Lea Michele & Cory Monteith – Rachel & Finn

What was the audition process for Glee like?
Lea: I auditioned a year ago. I had to sing two songs and read lines from the show. I come from a background in musical theatre, so for me, I actually felt very comfortable, because I felt like I was actually auditioning for a musical. The only difference was that there was a camera filming me during my audition. After three tries, I got it!
Cory: I sent a tape from Canada, which is where I was operating out of…
Lea: He’s a surgeon. [Laughs]
Cory: [Imitates an Australian accent] I’m a surgeon. I operate. In Canada. [Laughs] No, the cool thing about this show is that I’d never sung for anything before. I’d never tried or even considered myself to be a singer, so the audition process was very interesting for me because I had to figure out how to sing, just even to audition. So it was very new and very, very challenging.

Cory, do you feel like you’re a world away having moved from Canada to LA?
Cory: It’s so different. It’s a whole different world and a whole different culture. But at the same time, wherever you go, there you are. Whatever land you travel to, the sky is always the same colour. [Laughs]

Lea, being an accomplished Broadway performer, how is it now being on a TV show?
Lea: I miss New York and I miss Broadway, but I’m really happy to be on a TV show that caters to what I consider I do well. My background in theatre has really helped me, but at the same time, I’m totally new to television. I’ve never done TV before, so I’m finding that I have to rely on Cory and everybody else a lot. But I’m really passionate about it.

How would you describe your own high school experiences?
Lea: I knew I wanted to be famous ever since I was really young, so I used high school to try other things. I didn’t really conform to one group. I had a really nice high school experience.
Cory: I dropped out in the ninth grade, so it’s very fortunate that I found something to do that didn’t require an education or else I probably wouldn’t be in good shape.

Cory, you’ve had a few different jobs – you’ve been a taxi driver, a school bus driver, a construction worker… How do all of those jobs compare to acting?
Cory: It’s just a different trade. Everyone always says, “Oh, it’s so amazing! You’ve gone from this to this,” but it’s like, “Well, really, at the end of the day, we all get up in the morning, brush our teeth, have our day, eat lunch, have friends, family…”
Lea: Yeah, but you’re getting paid a lot more! [Laughs]
Cory: It’s true. But at the same time there’s challenges and there’s perks to every single job, at every single level, with every kind of income. There’s a lot of cons to making money, too. I don’t really see this as the ultimate thing. I’m very, very happy and very grateful to be doing it, but at the same time, it’s just come into my life.

Did you having any teachers like the ones on the show?
Lea: My teachers were awful. I’m not kidding. I unfortunately did not have a teacher in high school that I thought was inspiring or who motivated me. I really depended on myself for that. Matt Morrison, who plays Mr Schuester, is incredible and I wish I’d had a teacher like that in high school.
Cory: Awww…

What about you, Cory?
Cory: No. [Laughs] I didn’t go. Still didn’t go…
Lea: Can’t you just make up an answer?
Cory: Mrs Stonebrook – she taught me how to read good, so that I could be an actor and learn lines. She taught me proper diction from the dictionary. [Laughs]

So how did you prepare for your roles?
Lea: Well, Rachel Berry was sort of written for me. I met (creator) Ryan Murphy a while ago, so there’s a lot of Lea in there, but there’s also a lot of movies, like Election. He told me to watch Reese Witherspoon in that, so there’s a lot of her in Rachel. But at the same time, there’s a lot of me, and I just tried to stay true to that.
Cory: Well, in high school… [Laughs] Finn Hudson is much younger than I am and very different than I was. Playing that character, I just sort of reach back into a much more innocent, younger time. It’s refreshing playing a character that’s innocent and young, when I’m jaded and angry and bitter and used.

So in what ways would you say you’re similar and different to your characters?
Lea: I definitely like to take a back seat a lot more than Rachel does. She likes to be front and centre, whereas I like to sit back. I hate singing in front of people, it makes me very nervous. Rachel would probably put on a whole performance for you at the drop of a hat.
Cory: (Sings) “Hello my baby, hello my darling!”
Lea: I get so nervous just thinking about it.
Cory: I relate to some of my character’s storyline, having to deal with pressures from outside and from peers, and challenges at that age. I dealt with a lot of challenges at that age as well. But the character is completely different from myself. I think all really good characters come from truth on some level, but…
Lea: You’ve grown up a lot since.
Cory: Yes. I’ve gotten older. I’m kind of 27 going on 40.
Lea: Fifteen. [Laughs]
Cory: Sometimes 15, sometimes 40. My character is 17 going on 17. He’s truly 17 – it kind of spins my mind sometimes.

Tell us something about each other most people don’t know.
Lea: Cory lives in a frat house with three guys.
Cory: It’s true. She lives with Dianna Agron, who plays Quinn on the show.
Lea: It’s great. I really like having her around. She one’s of my closest friends. It’s very nice having her to hang out with.

Speaking of friends, Lea you grew up with Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina). What’s it like working with her now in LA?
Lea: It’s amazing. I have a piece of home with Jenna. Just being able to turn to her and say, “Remember this?”
Cory: It’s like taking home with you everywhere you go.
Lea: I love Jenna.
Cory: It’s like New York in a duffel bag.

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
Cory: No idea.
Lea: [Laughs] Trying to find a husband.
Cory: I have no idea! This kind of jumped in my lap in the first place, so I’m surprised to be doing this now.
Lea: I’d be popping out babies.
Cory: She’d be churning out babies in New Jersey somewhere. [Laughs]

READ MORE FROM OUR INTERVIEWS WITH THE GLEE CAST:

Dianna Agron & Mark Salling – Quinn & Puck

Jenna Ushkowitz & Kevin McHale – Tina & Artie

Amber Riley & Chris Colfer – Mercedes & Kurt