Glee, the sing-along comedy about high school theater geeks has quickly become the most popular show on television. Now, in it’s second season, the gay-positive, anti-stereotyping, song-and-dance TV sensation has spawned hit soundtrack albums, a sold-out concert tour, a Golden Globe award, and a passionate fan base of self-professed “Gleeks,” propelling the cast further into stardom with every episode. GQ’s Alex Pappademas sits down with stars Dianna Agron, Cory Monteith, and Lea Michele to discuss their relationships with their characters, cast mates, the racy GQ photo shoot, and the “no-trailer-sex” rule on set.
Lea Michele on people’s insisting she get a nose job:
“I was one of the only girls in my high school that didn’t get one. And if anybody needed it, I probably did. But my mom always told me, growing up, ‘Barbra Streisand didn’t get a nose job. You’re not getting a nose job.’ And I didn’t. Fuck those people. That’s why I’m proud to be on a positive show and to be a voice for girls and say, ‘You don’t need to look like everybody else. Love who you are.'”
…on why the camaraderie among the show’s cast needs to last:
“Someone from [another] television show came up to us at an event and said that and I got offended. Our show won’t still be running in season three if we’re not feeling that way, because then we won’t be real, and people will see it. So let’s hope that everything stays that way. Because I need this. I need this family!”
…on the GQ photo shoot for this story:
“I don’t know how they got me to do half the stuff I did. But I was in really good shape this summer, so…”
…on being the pregnant Cheerleader on Glee:
“I remember Ryan saying, ‘You’re about to get pregnant.’ And I thought, ‘Bring it on.’ When they put the pregnancy pad under my cheerleading outfit, I was walking around the set, and people were like, ‘Only on Glee!'”
Cory Monteith on growing up in Canada and dropping out of HS:
“You have to really look to get into trouble in Victoria, but I was industrious. Skipping school. Drinking. All that kind of crap. Things started off innocent like that. I definitely found myself in some places that I’m very fortunate I came back from…. The last thing I want to do is kind of imply to readers in high school that you too can drop out and be an actor and get on a big show and be -famous and make a shitload of money.”
…on Ryan Murphy’s “no-trailer-sex” rule:
“The first I heard about that was in the media. I was like, ‘Oh, really? Dammit!”
…on what really goes on inside those trailer:
“They all, like, hang out. ‘This sounds really cliché, but it’s true–it’s the high school experience I always wanted. Where we’re all growing into this new life together and figuring it all out as we go. I remember I’d come home from fifth, sixth grade, and I’d watch Saved by the Bell and be like, ‘I hope my high school experience is like that.’ And it totally wasn’t. It sucked.'”
PHOTOS | TERRY RICHARDSON FOR GQ MAGAZINE