Dot-Maries Jones’ Coach Shannon Beiste is transitioning to a man on “Glee” and the actress says it’s been an incredibly emotional arc.
“This episode, this Friday, is unbelievable,” Dot-Marie told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Wednesday’s Access Hollywood Live, of “Glee’s” upcoming episode. “Over 200 trans men and women who were in it were just so proud to be represented.”
Representing the trans community was a moving experience for actress, who fought back tears as she recounted filming.
“I cried the whole way home driving home from work that night. It was one of the proudest moments [of my life],” she said.
While her character’s trans journey has become one of her favorite experiences, the actress was initially a bit concerned about the storyline.
“At first I was nervous because the last four years I’ve been the underdog for the big girls and the tomboys, you know – just the big girls who are tomboys and they’re straight, and I don’t want to feel like I’m letting them down,” she explained. “But then I read the whole script and I was in tears and it was like, OK, now I have a whole other demographic that I don’t wanna let down. And I want to do them justice. That’s all I ever want to do.”
Dot-Marie hopes “Glee” viewers will come away from Friday’s episode knowing that “we’re all the same.”
“[It] doesn’t matter what you do and who you identify with,” she said. “Everybody has a heart.”
“Glee” airs Friday at 9/8c PM on Fox.
— Erin O’Sullivan
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