Brunette Ambition (30 page)

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Singing “Maybe This Time” with Kristin Chenoweth Dancing to
Chicago
with Gwyneth Paltrow Anything and everything with Kate Hudson Getting a makeover from Sarah Jessica Parker Getting to pretend-date Jonathan Groff
Q
HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE PAPARAZZI?

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The paparazzi exist in New York, but in a very understated way; in Los Angeles, they’re a huge (and dangerous) part of the culture. I get far less paparazzi pressure than a lot of celebrities in this city, but I still find their attention confounding. I’m a very grounded person—my day-to-day activities just aren’t that interesting. The fact that they want to capture me going into, and leaving, Whole Foods just sort of confuses me—and it makes me sad when they’ll run red lights and endanger other people just to get that shot. I absolutely understand that it comes with the job, but I don’t think that nearly causing accidents is worth it. Ultimately, I don’t let the paparazzi ever stop me from carrying on with my life—they’re not going to catch me doing anything scandalous, after all!

The other downside of the paparazzi, and being a public person, is that there are days when you really just don’t want your photo taken. When that’s the case, I lie low, cook at home, and stay out of the public eye. In my real life, I’m not like Rachel Berry, who could probably think of nothing she’d like more than showing off eighteen different rehearsed smiles and poses for the paps.

Dressed up as football players with Jenna, which was one of my favorite scenes ever on Glee.

Ballerinas from “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

Darren, Kevin, and me all danced out.

Everyone made fun of the dress I wore to the White House, but I really thought it was the most appropriate option.

Chris Colfer and me on set.

Filming our Christmas episode.

Filming Glee in New York with Chris during Season 4.

Heather, Jenna, Cory, and me in London during our Glee tour.

FINDING TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF (SLEEP, ETC.)/DEALING WITH LONG HOURS

Even though it’s calmed down considerably from the beginning,
Glee
is incredibly demanding to film: At the beginning, we were shooting twenty-two episodes and then going straight into a tour. There were moments when we all felt like we were about to break, but I think most of us came out the better for it. But while it’s less grueling than it was five years ago, it’s still pretty all-consuming. Because of that, I don’t have much of a social life outside of the show. After work, I generally head straight home to get as much rest and sleep as possible, since self-care is my number one priority. While the rest of the cast can somehow find it within themselves to go out at night, I’m the show’s old lady.

Whenever we were doing a ridiculously long dance number on
Glee
, the hair and makeup team and I would commemorate the moment with a photo of me passed out on the floor. I have about 100 of these. This came from about hour ten of a particularly grueling number: we were doing “Time Warp” from
Rocky Horror Picture Show
.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
GLEE

I think Lou, our costume designer, said it best: Shooting an episode of
Glee
is like jumping out of an airplane and needing to learn the choreography, learn your lines, learn your songs, and film everything before you crash on the ground. There are so many different components to stitching an episode together, it’s shocking it all gets done.

Our crew is the hardest-working crew in the entire business. Generally, they work all day and all night. There are times when we have a six a.m. call time and don’t wrap until three a.m., working that entire time. Sometimes we have to do three musical numbers in a single day. I’ve been known to fall asleep on the floor many, many times.

Probably the hardest number to ever do physically was the one in the swimming pool. And the food fight was particularly unfun. And then there was the “Thriller” number, which we had to do at night. We began shooting at eight p.m. and didn’t wrap until seven a.m. That was the first all-nighter I’d ever pulled. Ever! As you probably know by now, I’m not a party girl, and I’ve never watched the sun come up after staying up all night. After taping that particular episode, I called my dad and made him talk to me as I drove home from Long Beach—I was terrified I would fall asleep behind the wheel. Thankfully, he kept me company the whole ride home. I was so exhausted, that night definitely turned that episode into one of the most memorable for me of all five seasons.

HIGH SCHOOL KIDS EVERYWHERE CAN SEE THEMSELVES IN THE CHARACTERS ON
GLEE
, AND PARENTS HAVE FOUND NEW AVENUES FOR CONVERSATION WITH THEIR CHILDREN. AND WE’VE ALL BEEN ENTERTAINED.

DURING ANY GIVEN WEEK, ON THE DAYS WHEN YOU’RE NOT SHOOTING …

You have dance rehearsal with Brooke Lipton.