WORDS��HELEN�BOWNASS��SARAH�MAY���PHOTOGRAPHY��CHANNEL��COM��REX�FEATURES
LOOKING RAVISHING
IN TURQUOISE
It’s pink,
it’s cashmere,
and we
want it
“I FANCIED MYSELF AS A CLASSICAL
ACTRESS. SHAKESPEARE, STUFF LIKE
THAT. CHEKHOV. I WAS FANCY”
Yeah. As much as I love being an actress,
I don’t really like calling attention to
myself. I don’t want to be different.
So, it was a reluctant realisation, like,
“Oh, God. Really?”
And is it true that you didn’t come out
to your parents until even later?
Yeah, I think if I came out to my parents
when I was 18, it would have been
a different story, but I was 31 when
I finally did it, and it was great. There
was no drama, it was a wonderful
moment where we all came together
and they said, “We still love you.” My
family was great.
Did you ever worry it would limit
working in this industry?
I never hid who I was, but I also
didn’t push it out there either. And
nobody really seemed to care. If
I lost opportunities because I was
gay, I didn’t know about it. I think one of
the reasons that I’ve had such an easy
path is that people like Ellen DeGeneres
led the way. And now I just get to walk
down that trail, whistling.
You say you were a tomboy, but these
days you look very glamorous.
SPORTING THIS SEASON’S
MUST-HAVE ACCESSORY
Thank you. I started to accept my
feminine nature more as I got older
– and love it, too. In A Mighty Wind,
I played this very sexy come-hither
woman, Laurie Bohner. She has no
shame and really loves her feminine,
sexy body. And I found that in me.
I mean, I couldn’t wait to take off the
push-up bra at the end of the day,
but it really got me in touch with
my feminine wiles. And it’s been
lovely ever since.
What made you decide to take the
role of Sue in Glee?
My New Year’s resolution was that
I wanted to hang my hat somewhere,
because I was tired. I’d been travelling a
lot, doing small things; three days here,
three days there, and I really wanted to
sit for a little bit. Then this came up.
You’ve been working for years, but it
seems as though in the last few years
you’ve been everywhere. Do you feel
like the success is yours for the taking?
It feels like it, yeah. I’m feeling like
people think of me as kind of
omnipresent, and I hope that’s a good
thing, not wearing out my welcome.
Hopefully you’re not getting sick of me!
Not at all! Did you ever get
frustrated that you weren’t landing
the big roles earlier in your career?
I wanted it, but sometimes when
we look back we forget the struggle,
but yes, I was disappointed that
I hadn’t got any further than I wanted
to. I think always deep down inside
I wanted to be a central player.
Maybe I was too afraid.
Do you see yourself more of
a comedian or an actress?
An actress. My first job – well not
job, we weren’t paid – was the
Shakespeare Company in Chicago.
And I did a classical training
programme at Cornell. I fancied
myself as a bit of a classical actress.
I did a lot of Molière, Shakespeare,
stuff like that. Chekhov. I was fancy.
Are you looking for more serious
roles now, as well as continuing to
work on Glee?
I haven’t actively searched for it,
but I do a character on Criminal
Minds where I’m institutionalised
with schizophrenia, brilliant but
emotionally just a wreck. It
was nice to slow my rhythm.
How about being in Julie And
Julia? What was Meryl Streep
like to work with?
Meryl is my idol, she’s awesome.
It was great – a dream come true.
It was a joy meeting her, if
intimidating, but I really tried to
shut that part of it out. I did my
best just to act like a normal
person. When you come down to
it, she’s an actor like everybody
else, just a really good one! So I
was a little nervous going in, but
she made me feel really at home.
What can we expect from Glee in
the future?
It gets better and better. I was
watching TV the other night, and
I think it’s just head and shoulders
above – I don’t know, maybe I’m
over-selling this – but above anything
on TV. I’ll say it very softly [whispers]
I don’t want to sound like I’m
bragging. But it’s really good. And
these kids are amazing. I sashay in
and I sashay out basically, but they’re
recording and rehearsing and
dancing and then shooting; they’re
up at five in the morning and
working until 10 o’clock at night:
it’s a long day for them.
You said you were in your school
choir, so are we going to hear Sue
burst into song at some point?
I’ve been campaigning for it and I can
tell you it will happen...
Glee – The Road To Sectionals (the first
13 episodes) is out on DVD on
12 April from 20th Century Fox
�JANE�LYNCH�
THE�FACTS
Born July 14 1960
School Thornridge High
School Illnois, followed by
a theatre degree at Illinois
State University and an MA
from Cornell
University
WITH A.D. MILES
IN ROLE MODELS
Career 134 film and
TV credits including, uding,
The West Wing, g, Two
And A Half Men, n,
Frasier, The
40-Year-Old Virgin irgin
and Julie And Julia
Awards
Nominated for r
a Golden Globe, e,
for Actress in a
Supporting Role le
for her part as
Sue Sylvester
in Glee
Partner Jane
has revealed
she plans
to marry
psychologist
Dr Lara
Embry in May
¬ANE LYNCH
JANE STARRED IN
JULIE AND JULIA
WITH MERYL STREEP
Theatre Played
Carol Brady in
indie theatre hit
The Real Live
Brady Bunch
in 1993
Film debut
Played a small
role in comedy
Vice Versa, 1988
LYNCH WAS NOMINATED
FOR A GOLDEN
GLOBE THIS YEAR
WWW�STYLIST�CO�UK����
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.