What To Expect When You're Expecting - Matthew Morrison interview

MATTHEW Morrison talks about some of the appeal and challenges of turning What To Expect When You’re Expecting from a manual to a movie. He also talks about dancing with Cameron Diaz and working with Cheryl Cole as well as his hopes for a career beyond Glee. He was speaking at a UK press conference for the film…

Q. This must be the first time that a best-selling self-help manual has been made into a feature film. What was it that attracted you to the script and in what ways did it deliver?

Matthew Morrison: I actually didn’t like the script [laughs]. I got to dance with Cameron Diaz in the movie, so that was kind of the attraction for me. I had a good time doing the movie though. There’s this self-help book, which took a very scientific approach to things, and the film took it and made it into a real-life experience… a human experience. So, I thought that was really special and it was really great how they did it.

Q. How did all the babies behave in those last few scenes during childbirth? There must have been dozens? Were there some you wanted to pass on or fall in love with?

Matthew Morrison: I think for us, having the actual 14-day-old babies in the birthing scene… there’s very strict rules to that. I think maybe 15 minutes at a time… actually much less than that… possibly half. But this baby is going to be a star, though… I’m telling you. This baby came out and was so quiet during the whole birthing scene and then when he was supposed to be presented, he started crying on cue. I was like: “Yes!”

Q. How did you get along with Cheryl Cole?

Matthew Morrison: It was great. I come to London a lot and you can’t leave here without seeing her face on a magazine somewhere. So, it was really great to meet her and experience her as a human being. She was so sweet and lovely and very professional.

Q. Obviously, you’re known best for your role in Glee. Do you hope that this will help people to see you in different roles?

Matthew Morrison: I know they won’t [laughs]. Yeah, I hope so. I’m not going to pretend that this character was a crazy stretch or anything. I would love to do more stuff that will push me as an actor. But I love doing films. I love the fact that there’s a beginning, a middle and an end… you have one script and you see where your character starts and where he ends up. On television, it’s kind of open-ended. You don’t know where your character is going to end up. So, I really love the process of doing a film and I hope to do a lot more.

Q. How was the dance scene to shoot at the beginning?

Matthew Morrison: For me, it was interesting because I learned the dance in Los Angeles and Cameron learned the dance in Atlanta and we had about four hours to actually come together and learn it together. So, that was a little challenging. The funniest part for me was… there was this move where she wrapped her legs around me and I had to kind of spin her around. So, I said: “Cameron, hold on tight because I don’t want to lose you or anything…” But I couldn’t breathe! Her legs were so strong. I was like: “Oh my God!”