Glee may have pushed some storylines to the limits, but star Dot-Marie Jones still wanted to keep things relatable.
While catching up with her former costars Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) and Kevin McHale (Artie) on the latest episode of their Glee rewatch podcast And That’s What You Really Missed, Jones discussed her experience playing Coach Beiste in the Fox musical comedy, notably plots around domestic violence and coming out as a trans man.
“I was kind of disappointed because Beiste had always been like the big girl’s advocate in a sense where it doesn’t matter how big you are, how strong you are, you don’t know what he’s going through at home, because I’m going back to like the domestic [abuse],” Jones explained of her character’s complicated arc.
Jerod Harris/Getty
“I was like, I didn’t want to let anybody down. And my thing is I always want to do, whatever character I’m doing, I want to do it justice, and I want to do it right, and I want to do everything in my power to make it authentic, I guess, is a good word.”
In a third season episode called “Choke,” which aired in 2012, Beiste — then identifying as a woman named Shannon — confides to Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester and NeNe Leakes’ Roz Washington about experiencing abuse at the hands of husband Cooter (Eric Bruskotter).
“I always said, there are so many lessons in every single episode of that show, regardless of who somebody identifies with,” Jones said. “I mean, I had women back going back to the abuse one with Cooter and the domestic abuse with my husband, and I had actually women and men saying that that show helped give them strength to get out of a relationship.”
In a vulnerable moment, Beiste, admits to being scared to leave Cooter out of fear of never finding love again.
Jones, who was nominated for three Emmys in a row — in 2011, 2012, and 2013 — for the part, explained that her character’s later transition was a surprise to her.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
“I honestly didn’t know what his big plans were for Beiste until I got that first script,” she said of showrunner and producer Ryan Murphy. “At the 100th episode party. I went up to him and he says, Dot-Marie, I have big plans for your character in season 6.”
But Jones was more concerned with wanting to become a series regular, which she did.
“He goes, ‘Is that what you want?’ I said, ‘This is going on to my fifth season being on the show as a guest star. Of course, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.'”
Listen to the full conversation with Jones, Ushkowitz, and McHale on And That’s What You Really Missed above.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings