A Cory Monteith tribute scheduled for this week’s episode of Glee was very difficult to shoot, the show’s creator said.
Ryan Murphy spoke to reporters this week about the episode, which features the death of Monteith’s character, Finn Hudson. Murphy said the scenes were so emotional that crew members had to actually walk away sobbing.
“Those actors and the crew really loved Cory,” Murphy said . “They loved Cory. …He was the most kind, the most generous, never a bad word for anybody. so I think what you will see in the episode is what really happened.”
Murphy added that everything in the episode is from the first take of shooting, and that Glee producers involved anyone who wanted to be a part of the tribute.
“When you write something like that there’s no right way to do it,” Murphy continued. “A lot of the actors contacted me and said, ‘I loved him so much can I please be a part of it,’ so we put them in. It was very rough. It was very rough with Lea [Michele], but I was very proud of it.”
Cory Monteith was found dead in July inside his Vancouver hotel room. Medical examiners determined this week that he died of a toxic mixture of heroine and champagne.
Monteith died close to three months after completing a rehab stint. In April he publicly admitted to struggling with substance abuse problems, and he left for treatment with the blessing of Ryan Murphy and his fellow Glee actors.
This week Fox released a trailer for the Cory Monteith tribute episode of Glee. The video has shots of students putting together a tribute for Finn at his old locker, and a cover of “Make You Feel My Love” plays while Kurt and Rachel are seen crying.
The Glee tribute to Cory Monteith airs Thursday at 9 pm.
