The cast of Glee hit the map as some of the brightest rising stars on the scene when the musical series debuted in 2009.
However, the lineup of the New Directions might have been very different. In the years since Glee debuted, we’ve learned that a slew of actors auditioned for the show or expressed interest in making a cameo in an episode or two.
Some cast members even auditioned for different parts than what they ultimately got!
During an interview with Kevin McHale and Jenna Uskhowitz on their And That’s What You REALLY Missed Glee podcast, casting director Robert J. Ulrich opened up about the casting process.
“I really loved every single role and was happy and proud of all of you in every role. That is the truth,” he said.
He noted, though, that “the most difficult roles were Finn and Mercedes for sure.”
“Ryan [Murphy] really wanted Finn to be this believable high school jock and yet to sing great. We had flown people out from New York. We had so many auditions,” he recalled. That makes sense, as we have since learned that a multitude of actors were up for the role that ultimately went to Cory Monteith.
The interview made us curious, and we decided to do some digging to see what the cast could have looked like had things gone differently. We put the potential cast together in a list. Would you have guessed that all of these stars were almost involved in Glee?
Click inside to see all of the stars who were almost a part of Glee or auditioned for very different parts than what they got…
