Matthew Morrison Talks Gwyneth, GLEE, Summer Tour, and More!

In a recent interview with the Independent, Broadway veteran and GLEE star Matthew Morrison got candid about playing Mr. Schuester, working with his new co-star, and preparing for his upcoming tour.

On taking the job Morrison revealed: "Initially, when we all signed up with Glee, when no one knew what it was gonna be, there was an element of signing a record deal as well, with Sony [who release the Glee soundtracks]. And I refused to do it. I'd had a record deal before, with LMNT, so I knew... They could have said, 'OK, we'll get someone else.' But I knew I had some clout on Broadway, and a little bit of leverage. So I said no, and they were like, 'Yeah, sure, fine...'

"And it ended up being the best decision I think I ever would have made. Cos I don't have to go on tour with them - I don't have to do a lot of things. But it also gave me the chance to meet with several different record labels and do my own thing and get my own deal." 

As for working with Gwyneth Paltrow, he commented, "The best thing about Gwyneth is that she is who she is. This Oscar-winning, totally famous woman - but she's so... normal. And so sweet and so kind. I asked her a lot about that, just how you maintain that [demeanour]. Cuz this business can be a little crazy sometimes."

On his upcoming tour, he added: "Being someone who's a performer by nature, I can't wait to actually do these songs live. Glee has been a great, great thing, but I'm a live performer at the end of the day. It's been hard to be on a show [where] sometimes it doesn't feel completely creative or artistic because they cut, they stop, there's so much downtime. I'm like, 'Aaaah, I just wanna go and perform.'"

To read the full article, click here.

Matthew Morrison was a part of the Lincoln Center Theater production of South Pacific. It was at Lincoln Center where he also created the role of Fabrizio in the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he was also nominated for a Tony Award. His other Broadway credits include A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, Hairspray, The Rocky Horror Show and Footloose. He appeared off-Broadway last summer in the musical 10 Million Miles at the Atlantic Theatre Company. His TV and film credits include Dan In Real Life, Marci X, Primary Colors, Numb3rs, Ghost Whisperer, CSI:Miami, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Once Upon A Mattress.

Morrison currently stars on GLEE an uplifting series with biting humor that features a soundtrack of hit music from past to present. The show follows an optimistic high school teacher, Will Schuster, as he tries to refuel his own passion while reinventing the high school's glee club and challenging a group of outcasts to realize their star potential.