TheStarScoop.Com spoke with Glee's Harry Shum Jr. to find out more about TV's happiest musical show.
The Star Scoop:
Tell us about working on Glee and your character.
Harry Shum:
I've been working on Glee for five months. Basically I play a character named Mike Chang. He is part of the football team and he goes in to audition for the Glee Club as a way to get more popular kids into the Glee Club, and I happen to have this hidden ability to dance and sing, and I'm joining the Glee Club even though it's social suicide. So that's the character I play on Glee .
The Star Scoop:
Why do you think the show has been such a hit with people?
Harry Shum:
I think it's many things. I think when people watched this, it wasn't what they expected. They were expecting maybe a High School Musical type show, but it really isn't. It has a lot of different elements and I think a lot of people can relate to [it]. There's a lot of comedy and dark comedy as well. The humor is a little different. It's not cornball. Obviously, the musical aspect of it I think draws a lot of people in. I guess there have been a lot of shows that have been trying to put the musical element in TV shows, and it hasn't really worked out. But I think this is the right formula and people are really embracing it.
The Star Scoop:
This is the first show you have with a recurring role.
Harry Shum:
I mean, hey, I'm extremely happy about that [laughs]. That's for sure. It's been great to be able to be part of a show from the start where it's new to everyone, and everyone's finding their place in the show...also kind of developing their characters. I think it's been a great experience for me, and I've been learning a lot at the same time.
The Star Scoop:
What should fans expect from Glee?
Harry Shum:
You won't expect anything because we're doing things that aren't traditional. It's Ryan Murphy, so he's really going out of the box. It's really edgy and we're going there. Expect a lot of fun, crazy numbers. It's gonna be funny. Also touching at the same time. Expect a lot of twists in the plot as well.
The Star Scoop:
What can we expect from you as time goes on?
Harry Shum:
Definitely Glee is a big part right now. Hopefully people respond to it well. Right now, we're on hiatus, and right now I'm working on a project called "Legion of Extraordinary Dancers." The director of Step Up 2, he's the creator. It's basically an online dance series following these dancers...how they got their dance abilities. He basically sees dancers as kind of superheroes in a sense...where what they do is unnatural, and they have this super ability. This online series kind of does it in a fictional way, but I think it's really powerful. I choreographed ten episodes, and I'm in it as well. It's a project I've been working on the past year.
The Star Scoop:
What would you like your fans to know?
Harry Shum:
Definitely check out my Twitter. I think that's a great way to reach out to fans and to be able to have communication back and forth. You can check out my Twitter on www.twitter.com/iharryshum. Watch Glee. Let's make this show big! There's not very many shows out there right now that are really using this musical background...check out LXD, which is going to launch at the end of this year. It should be good stuff.