Are you ready for Glee?? Check out this behind the scenes video as well as some info on the stars of the new Fox show!
Sounds like it’s going to be great and for those of you who say you don’t like “musicals” according to Ryan Murphy. Versions of Kanye West, Rihanna are smashed right up to songs from Broadway smashes from “Wicked” and “Les Misérables.”
Here’s a little info on the actors and characters from the show….Glee starts on FOX May 19th.
Cory Monteith from Kyle XY
Character: Finn
Cory on Finn: “Finn is the quarterback, and he has a passion for singing but he’s trying to uphold his golden boy jock-y image, you know, as being the cool guy in the school. He’s struggling between doing what he wants and being a cool guy. That’s his conflict. His jock-y friends and cheerleader girlfriend give him a hard time for it. So it’s the struggle to do what he wants versus what other people want him to do.”
On his audition for “Glee”: “I ignored the fact that they wanted a tape of me singing and dancing because it’s not my strong suit, so I just sent the acting. Of course, I had to send the rest anyways. I sent a tape of myself singing REO Speedwagon’s ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling,’ but I did it like an ’80s music video where I’m all looking out into the distance. It was really cheesy.”
On why he hates the “High School Musical” comparison: “How do I put this? ‘Glee’ is like ‘High School Musical’ if ‘High School Musical’ had its stomach punched and its lunch money stolen.”
Click here to read about the rest of the cast!!
Lea Michele has also starred on Broadway, in “Spring Awakening” and the Hollywood Bow’s “Les Miserables”
Character: Rachel
Lea on Rachel: “Rachel is the star of her high school glee club in Ohio. She’s raised by two gay men, one Jewish and one African American. She’s very outgoing, a little bossy at times. She’s convinced this is her claim to fame but she’s got a lot to learn. When Finn comes into the glee club, he’s the jock, you know. Things are different. She’s a sophomore and is learning about her vulnerability and she just loves to sing. And she’s really very good. So we’ll see what happens with her love life and performing life.”
Chris Colfer, you may have seen him in His high school’s spoof of “Sweeney Todd” (which he wrote, directed and starred in)
Character: Kurt
Chris on Kurt: “He’s very fashionable. He’s very low patience. He’s very vogue. He’s a lot of things. He’s a mess sometimes. I think they’ve been describing him as the dramatic and fashionable soprano. I think I’m just the soprano part. He’s the dramatic, fashionable and fabulous part. And I’m not so much any of those things.”
On his audition for “Glee”: “I didn’t go through a teenage rebellion period because I saw ‘Nip/Tuck.’ [Created by Ryan Murphy, who is the creator of “Glee.”] That was my teenage rebellion. My mom would say, ‘You’re not allowed to watch that,’ blah blah blah. It was very nerve-racking auditioning in front of Ryan Murphy because I’m such a huge fan. It was hard. He’s very nice. He’s a little intimidating at first, but he’s great. I’ve learned lots of things from Ryan. I’ve learned how to deal with crazy people. Not that Ryan is crazy. But he likes crazy people.”
Amber Riley previously started in the pilot “St. Sass”
Character: Mercedes
Amber on Mercedes: “She’s a diva in training. But as any high school student, she doesn’t have her identity yet. She’s fun and sassy. She likes clothes. She’s a girly-girl but with a little more attitude.”
On getting to perform Jasmine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows” in Episode 3: “I was nervous when I saw the background dancers for the first time because they’re so tall and they’re kicking their legs up in the middle. I’m like, my head’s gonna be chopped off. I hadn’t danced for a long time but now I’m really comfortable. I was singing for a long time, doing open mikes, everywhere in Santa Monica, L.A., Hollywood. So performing is what I’m used to. I’m a little more comfortable doing this than the acting part.”
Kevin McHale you may have seen him: HBO’s “True Blood,” Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101″ and the boy band NLT (Not Like Them)
Character: Arty
On his biggest challenge: “The wheelchair, because I dance. It’s hard for me not to move my legs. I’ve always danced. [McHale belonged to the boy band NLT (Not Like Them).] So it’s weird for me not to be dancing. We were doing the pilot and we were doing the big finale scene, ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ and they were like, ‘Kevin, can you please stop moving your legs to the beat?’ Everybody’s singing and dancing and I’m trying not to move and it’s the hardest thing. I have to tense my legs up.”
Matthew Morrison has performed in Broadway’s “South Pacific,” “The Light in the Piazza” and “Hairspray”
Character: Will Schuester
On working with Murphy and performing Kanye West’s “Golddigger”: “I didn’t know who he was before this. But it’s amazing. He’s such a great leader and I feel like this whole show starts at the top. He’s so confident. He knows exactly what he wants and it just trickles down and he just makes everyone feel so comfortable and safe. I’ve never trusted a director so much. He’d say, ‘Do anything,’ and I’m totally willing to try because I totally trust what he’s trying to create here. He got me to rap. I had been dying to rap for years.”
Jenna Ushkowitz has starred in Broadway’s “The King and I” and “Spring Awakening”
Character: Tina
Jenna on Tina: “She’s a gothic stutterer. Her stutter is subtle. And Tina doesn’t know where she fits in, like the rest of the kids in the glee club. We’re kind of like the underdog/outcasts. You know, her closest friend in the glee club would be Arty. That’s pretty much Tina.”
On having to stutter on command: “Originally she had a much more dramatic stutter — Tourette’s almost. And so I did my research because I didn’t want to ever make it like I was making fun of the stutter. I played her really positive and Ryan laughed and he said he really liked that, that she’s like a happy geek. She wasn’t a gothic at the time.”
Jayma Mays has appeared on ABC’s “Ugly Betty” and NBC’s “Heroes”
Character: Emma Pillsbury
Jayma on Emma: “Emma Pillsbury is a germiphobic school guidance counselor who longs to be unsanitary with the glee coach, Will Schuester.”
On the most challenging part of the role: “Trying not to bring Emma’s mysophobia home with me. Last week I plastic-wrapped all my furniture … and bleached my cats.”
Dianna Agron has acted on : CBS’ “Numb3rs” and NBC’s “Heroes”
Character: Quinn
Dianna on Quinn: “Quinn is dating Finn. Of course, she’s very religious. She’s the captain of the cheerleading squad. She’s the captain of the celibacy club. She’s got all these things that are her. She can be so evil, but you come to realize there’s a lot going on with her.”
On why “Glee” is better than your average teen drama: “What I really like about all of these characters is that you’re not the cool kid or the dork or the mean girl. There are so many shades to all of us, and that’s really starting to unfold.”
Jessalyn Gilsig has plated on some other GREAT tv shows, including FX’s “Nip/Tuck” and NBC’s “Heroes” and “Friday Night Lights”
Character: Terri Shuester
Jessalyn on Terri: “I see Terri Shuester as pro-marriage. There is nothing she won’t (and doesn’t) do to save her marriage. Nothing. Some may be shocked by her choices, but I would ask those people, ‘Have you ever walked in the neighborhood of a person you had a crush on even though it’s on the other side of town for you, just in hopes of running into them? Have you ever pretended to have seen a movie they loved? Or laughed at a joke they told that you weren’t sure was funny?’ If so, don’t judge Terri. As her sister Kendra explains, deceit may be the basis of a healthy marriage.
On why she wanted to be on “Glee”: “To sing. Which I have NOT been asked to do. The script was one of the most original pilots I’ve ever read, and Terri was an opportunity to play a role that is really different for me, but honestly, if Ryan Murphy was producing a reality show about Canadians who were willing to live without their big toes, I would probably have done that too. ‘Nip/Tuck’ was one of the best creative experiences of my career, so to work with Ryan Murphy again, along with much of the crew from ‘Nip/Tuck’ is something I have wished for when blowing out my birthday candles, or throwing a penny in a fountain.
On the most challenging part of the job: “The most challenging part of the role so far has been to restrain myself from singing or dancing when I’m hanging around set in hopes that someone will give me a song to sing. I am surrounded every day by Tony-nominated Broadway stars, so it’s important that I sit on my hands and speak when spoken to. That way I hope to do the least amount of damage possible.”
object id=”WNVideoCanvasDEFAULTdivWNVideoCanvas” width=”500″ height=”321″>
