From left: Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale, Naya Rivera.Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Kevin McHaleis looking back on some of his not-so-glamorous memories from his time onGlee– including one time his costarsJenna UshkowitzandNaya Riverastepped up while he was battling an illness.
On the latest episode of theAnd That’s What You REALLY Missedpodcast, which McHale co-hosts with Ushkowitz, the actor recalled a time in 2011 when he was sick and his two costars held an “intervention” to stop him from using steroids.
As McHale, 35, explained on the podcast, he had been “sick as a dog” during a busy filming time and was prescribed prednisone, a steroid, to help manage the symptoms.
“We had just started filming theSuper Bowlepisode at this time. I think we were filming two episodes at the same time [and] in the middle of it, flying to England,” said McHale, who played Artie Abrams on the Fox series. “I was sick as a dog on all kinds of medicine including prednisone."
“It turned me into a monster,” he admitted, before noting that it did “give him the courage” to “fight” for his solo in the “Thriller/Heads Will Roll” mashup performed during the season 2 episode, “The Sue Sylvester Shuffle.”
Hubert Vestil/Getty
TheGleestar said that, while on the plane to England, he was having dinner with costarCory Monteithwhen Ushkowitz, 37, and Rivera — who tragicallydrownedin July 2020 at age 33 — confronted him about his steroid use.
“You were all like, ‘So, hey, why are you taking these steroids?’ I’m like, ‘Well, because I’m sick, I’m supposed to take them,'" he recalled. “You were like … ‘I think you should stop taking them.’ And I was like, ‘Why?!’”
McHale then said his costars told him, “You’re not sleeping. You’re acting crazy. You need to stop taking them.”
While Ushkowitz — who played Tina Cohen-Chang on the series — acknowledged the prescription was “needed” and “necessary” at first, McHale said he was still glad he stopped taking the steroid.
“It was a hard lesson to learn,” he said of the ordeal.
Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale attend iHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball 2022.Jesse Grant/Getty
Jesse Grant/Getty
Ushkowitz and McHale costarred on theRyan Murphy-created series from 2009 to 2015, along with Rivera, Monteith,Lea Michele,Dianna Agron,Chris Colfer,Matthew Morrison,Jane Lynch,Amber Riley,Darren Criss,Harry Shum Jr.,Heather Morris,Jyama MaysandChord Overstreet, among others.
In 2019, Ushkowitz and McHale launched their firstGleepodcast together,Showmance.The project initially began as a way for the pair to discuss how their working relationship transformed into a real-life friendship off-screen, but it eventually transitioned into aGleerecap podcast.
However,Showmancewent on an indefinite hiatus in July 2020 following the unexpected death of Rivera, who played Santana Lopez on the series.
In 2022, Ushkowitz and McHale rebranded to their currentGleerewatch podcast,And That’s What You REALLY Missed.
At the time, Ushkowitztold PEOPLEthat they planned to “really kind of dig into what was going on in the world as well, in pop culture, in politics, in the ways that I think the writers were probably inspired and impacted to write for the show.”
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The duo, with the help of their costars, have also used the podcast to look back on their favorite memories from the show — something McHale notes was primarily a positive experience despite the negative news that frequently came out of the series, likethe sudden deaths ofRivera, Monteith and Mark Salling, andtension among costars.
“Actually, I think Jenna said this. She said, ‘For every one bad or negative thing that happened, there were a hundred positive and joyful things that happened,'” he told PEOPLE in November 2022. “I think that’s probably thebiggest misconception that I knowfor media and social media, it’s really easy to latch on to negative, juicy things. But it was the experience for most of us, most of the time, [it] was such the opposite of that.”
source: people.com
