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Ryan Murphy disclosed he envisioned pop megastar Justin Timberlake for the role of Mr. Schuester in the musical TV series Glee.
The character of Mr. Schuester that inevitably went to Broadway actor Matthew Morrison was a Spanish teacher who forms a show choir at the school.
Murphy reunited to reflect on the show's pilot episode with Glee stars Kevin McHale, who played Artie Abrams, and Jenna Ushkowitz, who played Tina Cohen-Chang on the first episode of their new iHeart Radio podcast And That's What You REALLY Missed.
During the discussion, the award-winning writer said of the role of Mr. Schue:
"When we were writing the pilot, I've never really talked about this, that pilot was written for Justin Timberlake."
"Mr. Schue was written for Justin."
\u201cJustin Timberlake was the #1 choice for #Glee. Ryan Murphy reveals: \u201cWhen we were writing the pilot, I\u2019ve never really talked about this, that pilot was written for Justin Timberlake. Mr Schue was written for Justin." https://t.co/x6jJhfTow8\u201d— Variety (@Variety) 1667231474
Some fans were floored by the revelation.
\u201c@michaelcollado\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201cFinding out the role of Mr. Schue on Glee was written for Justin Timberlake makes so much sense. Like a puzzle piece in my brain I didn\u2019t know was missing finally found.\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@michaelcollado Imagine the collapse if justin was mr schue during the Britney Episode.\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@michaelcollado They said \u201cSame hair. We\u2019ll take him\u201d\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@michaelcollado Matthew Morrison is the JT we have at home. It makes sense now.\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@michaelcollado if justin timberlake was mr. schue id actually watch glee\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
Some people were hardly jolted by the news.
\u201c@michaelcollado This explains all the white guy rapping.\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@_yom0mma @michaelcollado And the - the vests. Did I imagine that? That feels like a Justin Timberlake thing.\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@michaelcollado i always thought he looked and acted like justin timberlake. though, how weird would the bye bye bye/i want it that way have been if it was JT instead\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@michaelcollado he\u2019s like a deep fake of justin timberlakr\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
\u201c@michaelcollado I know barely anything about Glee. But I immediately knew you meant the Matthew Morrison character. That's how much that makes sense.\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1667233375
Prior to the revelation, Murphy talked about the origins of Glee and how he was trying to find a way to develop a musical TV series well after landing an overall deal with Fox.
The script for Glee was given to him at the most unexpected place and time.
"While we were having these conversations and I was trying to figure it out, like serendipity, I went to the gym and I was in a towel and a guy went up and handed me a script and he said, 'I had a feeling you were in show choir, am I right?' And I was like 'Yeah'."
He added:
"And he said, 'My friend wrote this script and you should read it'."
While he was impressed by the viability and potential of the musical show after reading the original script–written by co-creator Ian Brennan–Murphy wasn't so sure about the darker tone.
"Mr. Schue, I believe, was a crystal meth addict in Ian's script," Murphy said.
"The NC-17 version of show choir with a weird protagonist who was unraveling."
Murphy then requested the show to be more "pop-y" and "not dark," adding he needed "something optimistic."
\u201c@FilmUpdates so nothing changed\u201d— Film Updates (@Film Updates) 1667231667
Interestingly, Glee wound up portraying Mr. Schue as a controversial figure.
Examples of this include his blackmailing Finn to get him to join the glee club, Mr. Schue's insistence for the school to do a performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a way to get closer to his "taken" female staff member Emma Pillsbury and a slew of other indiscretions.