“I’m still me, but then you’re dropped in this world of Glee— just lifted up and dropped into the school. Halfway through this scene, you look around and go, ‘Wow, I’ve been dropped into Glee,’ ” the actor tells USA Today.
On playing Dr. Howell: “He’s very different than anybody I ever played. He’s sort of the coolest guy in a really, really small pond. So that gives me a chance to be sort of dorky. I think he thinks he’s a lot cooler than he is, which is fun to play. He’s a ‘bro’ guy; he hasn’t even graduated to ‘dude’ yet. He’s like, ‘Let’s talk this out, bro to bro.’ He’s got a lot of enthusiasm. In other shows, they wanted me to really be the cool guy or the charming guy. This guy wants to be that guy, but he misses the mark.”
He’s still not a doctor: “I learned the same amount on Glee as I did on ER being a doctor. Actually, it’s way worse. I was used to ER, where they are so specific and you have to do this exactly right and hold the needle. Here, I asked if I should be wearing gloves and they were like, ‘Ah, who cares? It’s a comedy.’ ”
On Jane Lynch: “I didn’t want to know about her Emmy (for playing cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester). I wanted to know about her wax figure, and she was saying that was pretty weird. I told her I go down to Hollywood’s (Madame Tussauds) Wax Museum and I rehearse my lines with her wax figure. She’s fun.”
