Cory Monteith on His 'Idiot' Glee Character, His Two Left Feet and What's Ahead For Finn Hudson

CoryMonteith225.jpgLike the character he portrays on Fox's Emmy-nominated gem Glee, Cory Monteith is a paradox. Both awkward and well-rehearsed, the Canadian-born actor had famously never sung in front of a live audience before his audition for Ryan Murphy's musical series. He never learned how to throw a football before playing star quarterback Finn Hudson. And despite having zero experience dancing, he landed a role on the only scripted series that demands its stars learn new choreography each week.

That being said, Monteith is the first to admit his luck in scoring a role in the hottest new ensemble comedy-drama. As he was feeling under the weather after a long day of rehearsals, Movieline kept a safe distance from the actor as he discussed his first impression of Finn and his admittedly average dancing skills.

"When I first saw the script I thought [Finn] was an idiot," Monteith confessed to a group of reporters during a recent TCA event. "That's not a good place to start as an actor. You don't want to judge your character like that. I think his progression has been going from this dumb -- well, he's not dumb. He's innocent. He truly comes from a place of childlike innocence where he doesn't know that the moon and New York City are more than 100 miles apart, for example. He really doesn't know. And he always speaks before he thinks. That's a pretty common trait of Finn's."

Another trademark characteristic of Finn's is clumsiness, which is not entirely an act. In fact, Harry Shum Jr. revealed to Movieline that Monteith had the most room to improve last season (which he did) when it came to dancing, a statement that the actor does not refute.

"I absolutely agree with that," laughed Monteith. "I have two left feet. I have gotten a little better [this season], but it's still not something I am fluid at."

But viewers never counted on Finn Hudson for his stellar dance moves. They appreciated his sweetness and childlike wonder (even if it sometimes verges on maddening), a quality that Monteith made clear would not be going away anytime soon -- even if the actor had a hard time describing what that lovable quality is exactly.

"Oh, there are some classic Finn Hudson moments coming up. We were shooting some this morning actually. More of the adorable, the stupidity -- well, maybe stupidity is a bad word. Finn's adorable naïveté will be revisited."



Comments

  • stolidog says:

    "adorable naïveté" is just what the gays look for when they're out hunting straights.

  • haley says:

    Wow, a movieline.com article about Cory Monteith that does not have the word "robot" in it. Instead it has the word "idiot" in the title. Figures.

  • drivebythinker says:

    Finn is an idiot. And he's manipulative. If acting like a 5 year old throwing a tantrum means "childlike innocence" then I think Finn has it in spades.
    Nothing against Cory, I just loathe Finn.

  • Prakriti singh says:

    Oh cory is cute.he has played the nice character.suiting hin

  • la says:

    You are an idiot to think gay people are hunting straights...get over your homophobia..maybe you are gay and you are fearful of yourself!

  • teresa says:

    i hope that was a joke. it's a little dry. either that or you are the epitome of ignorance.

  • Trish says:

    I think the proper word to describe Finn is "guileless."
    Cory does a brilliant job with "Finn," and I look forward to future story-lines for the beloved character.

  • Steven says:

    stolidog , Your handle sounds like stool of the dog, and it fits. Let me count the number of times so called straight guys have hit on me, actually pulling their pants down thinking gay people jump on anything. That number would be eight times, most of them married men. So there dumbass, yes I am gay and no I do not find your ugly straight ass attractive. Closet case freak of nature. Tell your daddy your hidden sexual hangups, he will help you understand you hillbilly hick.

  • sarah says:

    just saying, the article you quoted harry shum jr. is a bit misrepresented ... it said that he had come the farthest, not that he had the furthest to go.
    most improved vs. needs improvement ...

  • Grace says:

    i love Finn and Cory! He's amazing! 🙂 He does a great job playing Finn considering that he is 12 years older than his character, okay maybe 13 or 14 years older than his character. i hopefully will meet him! oh i think i would faint.