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- Appearances > 2011 > December 7th: Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Lea Michele has more in common with her Glee character Rachel Barry than her vocal talent. The 25-year-old New Year’s Eve actress was bullied in school, but not because of her social status — because of her name.

“Sarfati. That’s my real last name,” Michele said on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Wednesday. “I don’t use it a lot because I got Lea So-fatty, Lea So-farty at school.”

Of course, Michele isn’t the only actor to speak out about their experiences with bullying in school. Stars like Charlize Theron, Demi Lovato and Eva Longoria have all opened up recently to discuss how they survived the mean kids of their youth.

So when did the Triple Threat drop her real last name and start using Michele instead?

“When I was little and I went on my first audition, they were like, ‘And may we have your name?’ And I was like, ‘Lea Michele.’ And I’ve been Lea Michele ever since.”

Watch the Tonight Show episode below:

 

Lea Michele doesn’t stray too far from her Glee character Rachel Berry in Garry Marshall’s star-packed New Year’s Eve: Once again, she plays a precocious singing talent matched with a tall, amiable galoof (in this case, Ashton Kutcher). Still, the film is notable as Michele’s first big-screen endeavor, and even bigger things may be to come for the 25-year-old actress, as rumors have her on the very select short list to play Eponine in Tom Hooper’s movie version of Les Miserables. An enthusiastic Michele recently sat down with Vulture to talk about her fear of romancing Kutcher, the scrutiny that comes with those Les Miz rumors, and the aesthetic influence of her Glee showrunner Ryan Murphy.

The 25-year-old actress says she was inches away from plunging off stage during one of Glee‘s live shows before Lea’s lifesaving intervention.

“Lea saved me,” says Dianna. “There was a slightly smaller stage (than usual) and fireworks which came down a little closer, almost on top of us and I couldn’t see. Lea’s like, ‘Get over here, you’re about to die!’ It was kind of serious. Now I always remember to look down once in a while.”

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“I know that she’s going to be in the school musical,” she told The Hollywood Reporter, regarding her character Rachel Berry. “I have some awesome storylines with Darren Criss, Chris Colfer, and I’ll be singing a lot of Broadway as always.”

Michele added that the new season will continue to focus on the core group of students, in particular those characters that are in their senior year. The actress also claimed that the show will continue to reinvent forgotten pop songs for a modern audience.

“In season one we did a lot of classic rock songs, or not even so much classic rock but songs you haven’t seen in the Top 10 in a while,” Michele explained. “I definitely think they’re going to do more of that this year, taking songs that used to be incredibly popular and reinventing them.”

Michele has previously admitted that she is not focusing on her character’s potentially reduced role next season, but has said that she is excited about the possibility of a spinoff series focusing on Rachel and Kurt.

Glee will make its season three premiere on September 20.

Lea has denied rumors she did get that nose job. “In 3-D, my nose is going to look fabulous,” she quips, referring to the 3-D Glee movie out Aug. 12.

Lea isn’t exactly Heidi Klum-sexy. And she’s fine with it. “I’m 5-foot-3. I don’t look like a lot of other people, you know what I mean?” she says. “I look like I’m 12.” The actor, who turns 25 on Aug. 29, also has a 12-year-old’s energy. “I don’t stop,” she says. “It’s my nature. People have to tell me to slow down. I plan on playing every role on Broadway. I want to do Evita. I want to do Sweeney Todd with [Glee's] Chris Colfer. We want to do Wicked. I’ll be Elphaba and he wants to play ‘Guy-Linda.’ I want to do movies, make music.” Is that all?A big O for the Big O!

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“I didn’t necessarily know that it was going to be our last season next year,” Colfer, 21, told Extra Thursday. “I knew something like that was coming up eventually. I mean, we can’t be there forever.”

Though it may seem bittersweet, Colfer is excited to see what adventures lies ahead for his character, Kurt Hummel. “I would love to see him walking off to the sunset with an internship at Vogue,” the actor said. “That’s where he’s headed. That’s what I would like.”

Colfer also hopes Murphy will ask him back for a few episodes. “I’m hoping I can be like Farrah Fawcett, a la Charlie’s Angels, and come back in the fifth episode,” he mused. “Or I can be like Batgirl in the Batman series, where there’s a symbol in the opening credits and you know they’re in it.”

Meanwhile, Colfer’s costar Michele is trying to keep her spirits up after Murphy made the news public Wednesday. “We always knew we’d graduate in real time. It’s all part of the plan and it’s all good,” the actress, 24, tweeted Thursday. “It’s going to make Season 3 amazing! This is just the beginning!”

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Do you have one hour of free time? If yes, sit down, relax and watch full interview! :)

I have also added to the photo gallery scans from The Hollywood Reporter, so visit gallery as well.

Gallery Link: Scans: The Hollywood Reporter – 06/24/2011 (x04)

And at the end, I have for you behind the scenes video from the shoot, so check it out :)

On what she was like in high school: I wasn’t a goody-goody; I loved to have fun. I never did drugs. Acting always came first. I was lucky, because I really believed in who I was.

On getting a nose job: Of course, I thought about it. I’m sooo thankful that I didn’t.

Gallery Link: Cosmopolitan scans – June 2011 (x07HQ)

On where she thought her acting career would head: I knew I wasn’t going to end up on a Disney half-hour show. I mean, look at me! I don’t look like those girls. I just wanted to do a guest appearance on something like Grey’s Anatomy.

On her idea of a perfect night: Take a shower, put on a bathrobe, pour myself a glass of wine and Skype with Theo. That’s the best.

Gallery Link: Marie Claire shoot (x03MQ + cover)

THE DIVA: LEA MICHELE
Age: 24;
Hometown: Tenafly, NJ;
Character Name: Rachel Berry

Was high school heaven or hell?
It was just about getting through unscathed. I wasn’t the coolest kid, but I got by. I played volleyball, I was a varsity debater — I won a lot of trophies for that; I talk very fast! — and I only did one play and one musical because I wanted to give other people an opportunity. I also had a long-term high school boyfriend — there was some intense, emotional journaling from that — and a nice group of friends. It was really normal.

My pre-Glee gig was…
I worked consistently on Broadway from when I was 8 years old through Spring Awakening, which I left in 2008.

You famously got into a car accident on the way to your Glee audition, ditched the rental, and ran to the Fox lot anyway. Were you at all afraid they would think you were nuts?
I was more afraid that they’d think I was using that as an excuse for being late. Because at first they were like, “Oh, my God, are you OK?” But after a while they were joking, “So that ‘car crash’ you were in …” I literally had chunks of glass that I pulled from my hair and put on the table. I look back on that day and think, I can’t believe I did that. I left the car on the side of the road. But something came over me.

What’s the story behind the First Wives Club?
It started a year and a half ago. The girls would get a bottle of red wine and stay a few hours after work to hang out and catch up in my trailer. Now we do it whenever we want. Occasionally, we’ll let one of the boys in, and it’s so funny to hear them talk about it. They’re like, “Have you been to First Wives Club?” “I’ve been once.” “Did they let you in?” “They let me in last week, but they wouldn’t let me in this week.” We also hang out a lot together off the set — I’m with Dianna, Amber, and Jenna nearly every day.

Your love prediction for Rachel?
I think people want her to be with Finn. And I love working with Cory so much. He’s my buddy. The other day we did a scene, and my direction was to look longingly at him as he walked away. And I’m looking at him … looking … looking … and he starts making fart noises off camera. And I’m like, “What the fuck? What are you doing? I’m supposed to be in love with you? Are you crazy?” So thanks, Cory, for that.

How many tattoos do you have?
I have 10, but they’re tiny: a gold star for Rachel, one for Spring Awakening, the butterfly on my back is for my mom, another on my foot is for my cousins, and Kevin and Jenna and I have “Imagine.” The day I got my newest one — it won’t be my last — I texted Kevin, “At the tattoo parlor,” and he replied, “We just got here. Where are you?” And I said, “I’m in New York. Where are you?” And he goes, “At the tattoo parlor in L.A.” We’d randomly gone on the same night.

Tabloid terror: What’s been the most absurd rumor you’ve heard?
We refer to Jenna and Kevin’s houses as the “Love Nest” because we read that they were shacked up — they’re not dating, they’re best friends. And once someone said that Chris was hit by a fruit truck and died. Recently, I read that I was kicked off a plane: “Lea was using her BlackBerry …” I don’t even own one.

If everyone graduates by 2012, what’s your fantasy future for Rachel?
I totally figured it out: Rachel Berry grown-up is Charlotte York from Sex and the City, if Charlotte were raised in Ohio by two gay men.

Read the rest of Marie Claire’s exclusive interview with the Glee star in our May 2011 issue, on newsstands April 19.

Watch behind the scenes the videos below ;)