Lea Michele: You can’t ignore the context of past behavior

Lea Michele talks about ‘Funny Girl’ showing audiences who she is after a process of self-reflection.

Following allegations of toxic workplace behavior and racially insensitive harassment on the set of “Glee,” Michele replaced Beanie Feldstein in the lead role of “Funny Girl” on Broadway in July 2022. Michele admitted that she has an “advantage” because of her need for perfection. performances, but added more context in a recent interview with Jeremy O. Harris Interview magazine.

“I think these last two years have been so important for everyone to just sit back and think. I had a lot of personal inquiries,” said Michele. “However, the most important thing was for everyone to take a step back. More than anything, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to positively apply what I have learned over the past ten years. What I said to myself when I walked into “Funny Girl” was, “If I can’t take my leading role off stage as important as my leading role on stage, then I shouldn’t be doing this show.” Because it’s always been a struggle for me.”

Michele added: “So to have this opportunity now, at 36, as a wife and a mother – to step into this job that comes with so much pressure and so much responsibility – has been a very, very big achievement for me.”

The “Spring Awakening” alum continued, “At the end of the day, what matters most is how you make people feel. And put your feelings aside. The conversations I had with some of the people behind the scenes were incredibly healing and very eye-opening. I have been doing this for a very long time and I will never blame anyone for the things I have been through in my life. But you can’t ignore or deny these experiences either. They are parts of the quilt of my life. When I got the call that I was going to play Fanny Brice, I said, “Okay, this could be very important for my career, but it’s also useful to have the opportunity to show people who I am now.”

Michele shared that she suffers from “a lot of anxiety,” but “again, I never want to use what I’m going through as an excuse for anything, but it’s part of my journey.”

He added: “I’m very hard on myself. The more positive things like this happen, the more nervous I get. It’s nice to have little moments and feel, “You fucked it up.” It’s also good to let the others go and just keep my eyes on the prize. Listen, my alarm goes off at 6 in the morning, I take my son to school, I spend the day getting my house and my life in order for him. I’m a mom all day and then I go to work at night and do my show. Those two things are most important to me.”

Michele similarly told The New York Times in September 2022 that she now deals with her emotional “blind spots” when it comes to playing a cast member.

“I really understand how important and valuable the leadership role is now,” said the actress. “That doesn’t just mean doing a good job when the camera is rolling, but also when it’s not. And it wasn’t always the most important thing for me.”

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