Idina Menzel Says Guest-Starring Role on GLEE Was 'Bittersweet'

Yesterday, Broadway's Idina Menzel headed one the Tribeca Film Festival's talks titled STORYTELLERS - IDINA MENZEL, in which she talked about her life and career in front of a audience.

While speaking to the crowd alongside theater and film producer Marc Platt, the Tony winner joked that she will most likely not be appearing in the much-talked about film version of WICKED. "I'm gonna be way too old by the time [Platt] gets it done," she shared. "Unless he CGI's it, and he knows how I feel about that - I really want him to do that."

Later, Menzel spoke about her guest starring role as Lea Michele's mother, Shelby Corcoran on the hit FOX musical series GLEE, calling it "bittersweet." "The gig came three months after I popped a baby out so I felt fat as all hell, and I was Lea Michele's mom - like, could I just be her older sister?" She added, "She wasn't as young as she was playing [on the show] so it was like, really, I'm her mom? So it wasn't good for my ego, I'll be completely honest," she said. "I was happy to be there and work with those people, but I had to get over myself a little bit."

Speaking on the many emotionally demanding roles she has taken on throughout her career on stage, Menzel explained, "You're in it, you feel all that stuff, and then you get off and you let it go." Realizing the unintentional reference to a certain hit song from Disney's FROZEN, the actress joked, "It's so unfair! It's just a very ordinary saying that we've all used a million times. Now I can't say it ever without having a funny response!"

Idina Menzel's diverse career traverses stage, film, television and music. She was in the original Broadway cast of Rent and also starred in the 2005 film adaptation. Menzel was most recently seen on Broadway in the original production If/Then, which earned her a third Tony nomination. She gained widespread popularity voicing Elsa in the 2013 hit Disney film Frozen. Menzel co-founded the A BroaderWay Foundation in 2010, which offers girls from underserved communities an outlet for creativity through arts-centered programs. In 2014, Menzel was recognized as one of Variety Magazine's Power of Women honorees for her work with the organization.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos