Jane Lynch bids goodbye to Sue Sylvester and Glee after nearly six years

AS Glee nears it series end, actress Jane Lynch reflects on shooting the emotional final scenes and the acid-tongued Sue Sylvester.

SHE plays the acid-tongued and heartless Sue Sylvester on Glee, but with just six episodes to go before the final curtain falls on the show, Jane Lynch admits filming those final scenes was more brutal than any of Sue’s take-downs.

”It feels a little strange to no longer have Glee to go to,” says Lynch, a week after the final scenes were shot.

“It’s been really sad, bittersweet. We celebrated every cast member one at a time.””

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“The last three days of the shoot it became clear, we were really feeling it and every time we finished a scene it was like a ticking clock, you know” Lynch said.

“We’ve all been together now almost eight years, and some of these kids were kids and some of us were in our mid-40s (she laughs) in our normal lives (she’s now 54).

“And we have been through a lot together, obviously, losing Cory (Montieth the Canadian actor, who dated his onscreen girlfriend Lea Michele in real life and played Finn, but died from a heroin and alcohol overdose at 31 in July, 2013) and you know we have ended up with an amazing group of people.”

“It’s been really sad, it’s all over now.

“And you know, we thought of Cory every day. His beautiful little mug is up on the wall on a plaque, so it’s like he’s there .. but of course he’s not.

“Clearly in those final days of filming I would imagine he was in everyone’s thoughts.”

Lynch says performing her last song for the show — an ABBA song with Glee’s Will Schuester (Matt Morrison) with whom Sylvester had a total love-hate relationship — was ‘brutal’.

“It was difficult. But it was moving and what a joy to honour that relationship between the two of us as people and as characters,” Lynch says.

Ha!! Forgot all about this!! RT @gleek_4everrr: #TBT @hitchmichael @janemarielynch #lovehttps://t.co/1BPaSVQUs9

— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) March 20, 2015

There were laughs among the goodbyes, and Lynch revels in the knowledge that Sue Sylvester — and Glee — continue to give until the final credits roll.

That was the case form the second she read the pilot describing Sue as “someone who may or may not have posed for Penthouse and may or may not be on horse oestrogen”.

“I thought: ‘that’s somebody I want to play’,” Lynch laughs.

Hooked: Jane Lynch loved the role as soon as she read it. Picture: Supplied

Famous one-liners ... Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester in Glee Picture: Supplied

Lynch went on to win an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the acid-tongued egomaniac who made tracksuits acceptable wear, anywhere — mainly because nobody dared argue.

“I don’t know if I’ll meet someone like her again. I don’t think I need to play anybody like her again,” Lynch says.

There were times when Lynch thought she couldn’t stomach saying the things written for Sue.

“I’d ring Ian Brennan (the character’s creator) and said “I don’t know that I can say this” and he would reply, ‘just give it a try’,” she says

“On the other hand I ‘d have schoolteachers come up to me and say “God I wish I could talk to kids the way you do”.

Future looks brihgt ... Actress Naya Rivera played Santana Lopez in 113 episodes. Picture: AP / Jason DeCrow

Played Artie Abrams ... Actor Kevin McHale, 26, starred in Glee. Picture: AP / Chris Pizzello

Lynch delights that Glee wraps as strongly and unapologetically as it began, with a powerful transgender storyline she describes as ‘brave — as the show has always been’.

“The writers really pulled all the stops. It’s all so touching and some of it is just ridiculously funny. It’s the best that Glee can be,” she says.

“There were a couple of episodes called The Hurt Locker about Sue’s storage space where she keeps all of her resentment like museum pieces. It’s insanity, and so funny.”

Lynch’s favorite song for Sue was her homage to Madonna’s iconic Vogue video.

“Without question,” she says. “That was (Glee creator) Ryan Murphy’s baby for damn sure. He was in charge of every moment.”

‘We thought of Cory every day’ ...Actor Cory Monteith with on and offscreen onscreen girlfriend, actress Lea Michele. Picture: Jordan Strauss / Invision /AP

In 2011, Glee generated $2 million advertising revenue per half hour ... (From left) Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch. Picture: Patrick Ecclesine / FOX

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Originally published as Jane Lynch bids goodbye to Sue Sylvester and Glee after nearly six years