Although Mike O’Malley is busy shooting his new NBC sitcom, Welcome to the Family, he fully intends to participate in the upcoming Glee tribute to the late Cory Monteith.
On Glee, O’Malley plays Burt Hummel, father to the out and proud Kurt and step father to Finn, the loveable but awkward quarterback played by Cory. O’Malley reminisced about working with the late actor–who was found dead two weeks ago from a lethal cocktail of heroin and alcohol–with reporters assembled for the Television Press Association Tour in Beverly Hills on Saturday.
“I think that I had what was probably the toughest scene I’ve ever acted in my career opposite him when I had to throw his character Finn out of the house because of a slur that he used. It was remarkable to me when we were shooting that scene over and over again.”
O’Malley is referring to the Season 1 Lady Gaga tribute, where Burt throws Finn out of his house after overhearing him use a homophobic slur during an argument with Kurt.
The depth of emotion he was able to portray, the sorrow, the shame. Ever since I met him, he was the fictional quarterback on that show and he was the very real quarterback on that set. He was an incredibly warm guy who was welcoming to every one who came on that show from the beginning through the new folks who came on to the show this last year. He was a very hardworking actor. He was a great guy and I miss him very, very much.
I hope O’Malley’s schedule allows him to participate in the tribute, which is set for episode 3. Burt married Finn’s mother during season 2, and the four–Burt, Carole, Finn and Kurt–became a family. The wedding episode had a beautiful number “Just the Way You Are” (I posted it in the Cory performance tribute) where Finn apologizes to Kurt in his wedding speech.
The Hummel-Hudson dynamic was underdeveloped, sadly, but the storylines that do exist bring together some of Glee’s best actors–Mike O’Malley, Chris Colfer (Kurt), Romy Rosemont (Carole) and Cory Monteith for some of the show’s finest scenes. Mike O’Malley absolutely needs to be involved with the tribute. And I hope he can come back to play scenes (please write them, Glee producers) that involve the family dealing with the emotional aftermath of Finn’s death.
Read More:
Glee Cast, Crew Gather For Emotional Cory Monteith Memorial Plus Chris Colfer Breaks his Silence)
Lea Michele Graces Cover of Marie Claire, Talks Relationship With Cory Monteith
Ryan Murphy Reveals How Glee Season 5 Will Proceed Without Cory Monteith
