- Lindsay Pearce said she told herself not to look at or talk to Lea Michele while filming "Glee."
- She said she did so because Michele was "the star of the show" and she was "nervous."
Although "The Glee Project" prepared Lindsay Pearce to be on "Glee" in 2011, it didn't entirely calm her nerves.
Speaking to Insider ahead of the 10-year anniversary of "The Glee Project" ending, Pearce said despite interacting with "Glee" cast members throughout the reality competition, she was "nervous" about working with the principal stars once she got on set.
In her two-episode arc, Pearce's character, Harmony, intimidates Lea Michele's character, Rachel Berry, with her talents, and even makes her cry — but Pearce said she was actually intimidated by Michele in real life.
"I remember when Lea came in and I was like, 'Don't talk to her. Don't even look in her direction. Leave her alone,'" she recalled. "Because she's the star of the show."
On the other hand, Pearce said she did interact with "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy and costar Chris Colfer, who played Kurt Hummel, on set. She said Murphy told her he "loved" her character's red beret, and Colfer told her he was "really excited" that they were filming together.
"Chris was like, 'Did you win?' I was like, 'I didn't!'" she recalled. "He was really sweet."
During her run, Pearce also led a memorable mash-up of "Anything Goes/Anything You Can Do." She said she had just two days to learn the intense, tap-dance-filled moves from "Glee" choreographer Zach Woodlee.
Still, she told Insider, she was "thankful" editors ended up cutting away from her feet for the majority of the scene.
Pearce was the first 'Glee Project' contestant to appear on 'Glee' — and she's proud of her run on the show
Pearce won a two-episode spot on the show for being a runner-up on "The Glee Project," a title she shared with Alex Newell. Though Newell was also promised two episodes, they ended up appearing in over 40 as Unique Adams.
Still, the Broadway actor said she "never felt robbed" and "did a good job with what she was promised."
"I've seen clips of those performances throughout the years and I marvel at how on fire I was, how locked in I was," she told Insider.
"I can't believe that at 20, I was so confident. 'The Glee Project' trained me really well to do 'Glee' well, and I was always really proud of what I was able to put out in those two episodes."