For Paul Mescal, playing a dad was the ‘greatest dress rehearsal’ for being one.
“It was about fitting in and making friends with the people around you,” says the actor who plays Dr. Jack Kevorkian in “Glee.”
“At the end of each episode, they would all come together – cast members, staff, extras – and it would be like a big family reunion, and we would have lots of laughs and jokes and toasts and they’d say, ‘So, how do you guys feel about getting married?'”
Mescal, 34, grew up as an only son. But the role he’s best known for in the hit TV series is Paul-Victor Mescal, the father of the popular character Blaine (Chris Colfer).
The dad from “Glee” is definitely an unconventional choice for an actor, and the actor says it wasn’t even his original choice.
“I mean, I really auditioned for Dr. Kevorkian, because the character seemed like a perfect fit for me and I really, really love him. I mean he’s really cool. He’s funny and so smart and so creative and so kind and he is just a brilliant, brilliant surgeon who does a great job,” Mescal says.
“But I don’t think anybody came in and said, ‘this character is gonna be the father for me’.
“As I got to know him, he becomes, like, very protective of me and I don’t want to make it seem like I’m the bad guy, but I’m starting to feel like he’s like a big brother to me.”
The actor says his life with his father was quite similar to that of Blaine.
“He was always working, so we started having dinner together every night and the only time we were all together was when I was little. And it all turned out pretty well. You know, we’ve got a lot in common, which I think the character does as well – he’s very sensitive about his parents. And he’s very protective of them and his kids.”
Glee show creator Ryan Murphy has spoken out about his love for the show’s father-son relationship. He says the character is more complex than it is on the surface and he has loved playing them both.
“I’ll take my kid’s opinion on anything any day of the week,” he says. “I mean we do
