“I never thought I would get to do comedy—ever,” admits Glee star Lea Michele, reveling in the role of wildly talented, overambitious high schooler Rachel Berry, who alternately dazzles with showstoppers and takes slushies to the face. “Now all I want to do is do funny stuff!”
She’s relished the wackier turn after serious stage roles like Spring Awakening’s tragic Wendla, her breakout. “Every day on Broadway you tell a story, and it lives and dies within a night,” says Michele. “Literally, I lived and died every night!” Now she loves evolving her character episodically. “I understand Rachel’s sense of determination. She strives for perfection but sometimes needs to learn to give herself a little bit of a break.”
Michele’s given herself a break after initially not feeling “pretty enough” for TV. “Growing up I didn’t see girls that looked like me or a lot of characters I could really relate to,” she says. Seeing Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl changed all that. “I feel very much like Fanny Brice; I understand her.” And Glee offered the chance to pay tribute. “Singing ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ was a big one for me!”
Today she’s the role model: “I’m honored to be showing young girls they don’t need to get that nose job and look exactly like all the other girls—that it’s OK,” says Michele. “When I kind of let my freak flag fly is when I got Glee.”
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