Jayma Mays

Jayma:(About her time in high school) I don't know how other people preceived me, but I don't feel like I ever fit in anywhere. I did a little bit of everything. I was a cheerleader. I did Mathletes. I was really across-the-board, like a nutcase. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, so I just did everything. I was even part of FHA, Future Homemakers of America. How lost was I? As you can see today...

Jayma: (On why she wanted to be a part of Glee) First of all, it was when I found out Ryan Murphy was involved (I knew that before I had even read the script). I think he is brilliant and I love everything he does. That intrigued me right away. Then, when I read it I fell in love with the character. The second I read it I thought, "Gosh, if I could be a part of this project it would be fantastic." It had everything going for it. It's different, quirky, it's a fight for the underdog and it's got music in it. Everything about it made it a no-brainer situation.

Jayma: (On the chemistry on the set of Glee) Matthew Morrison plays the lead and he is the Glee Club coach. That's who Emma is in love with. I've worked with him once before. That was great because I kind of felt we kind of knew each other enough to feel like we didn't need to build that chemistry. As far as the Glee kids, I don't know because they have a lot of scenes on their own. They seem to be just really hitting it off. They are always hanging out on set, laughing and goofing around. You can tell they've really bonded. I don't know if that was immediate, but it really seems like they've bonded quickly.

Jayma: (On the most memorable part of filming Glee) With the first episode, you never know what it is going to be like. You read it and you think it sounds fantastic, but when you do it together, what's it going to be? I can remember sitting in the audience watching the performance of a really great Glee Club. They are performing the song "Rehab," which you may have seen the clips for. I can remember watching them dance and they are flipping around, singing and doing all these crazy moves. It's like the most professional performance that I've ever seen and I can remember just sitting in the audience watching them and thinking, "Oh my goodness! This is the most amazing production of anything I've ever been a part of!" During the pilot while we were watching this, I thought, "Gosh, if this gets picked up I'll be the happiest girl in the world!"

Jayma: (On the most challenging part of Glee) My character doesn't sing every episode, like all of the kids in the Glee Club. When and if that happens, it will definitely be a challenge for me. I think the challenge comes from Emma just having many layers built in to her with her being manic and I feel like she's always afraid of something in the room because there are rooms everywhere. Then, you add into that the fact she's lusting after a married man. I always feel like there are a lot of things going on with her, but that's what makes her so wonderful to play, too. There are three writers on the show who are Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk. I think they are all great at writing for women, which is fantastic.

Jayma: (On singing in Glee) I had to sing and I am not typically a singer. I'm not a Broadway girl or anything. I had to prepare a song for the audition and then after the first audition I went through testing. I had to prepare the scene for that and that was like the scariest thing I've ever had to do. My face got all red and I thought I was going to vomit. That was definitely out of the norm for me.

Jayma: I did work at a mall in college - I think retail/customer service is just one of the most hideous jobs in the world. So I always try to be extra nice when I go into a store. But malls are part of our culture, if you watched any teen comedy in the '80s. it's clear that malls are where we live!

Jayma:(On her supposed love of long division) I'm not sure where that's coming from. I don't know that I have a big fascination with mathematics. ... I did math in school, obviously. And I loved all my math teachers.

Jayma: I definitely know that I'm quirky. I know that I'm different. Red hair definitely made me different growing up.

Jayma:(On the hardest part of playing her character in Glee) Trying not to bring Emma's mysophobia home with me. Last week I plastic-wrapped all my furniture ... and bleached my cats.

Jayma:(On her character in Glee) Emma Pillsbury is a germiphobic school guidance counselor who longs to be unsanitary with the glee coach, Will Schuester.

Jayma: I grew up in a really, really small town [in Virginia] and we didn't have a mall. The closest one was an hour away. We didn't even have a movie theater!

Jayma: (On her role in Heroes) I have been recognized a lot more since being on the show, but by the most enjoyable and extremely supportive fans. I was actually approached a few weeks ago by a Japanese couple that assumed I spoke their native language...so half of the conversation was me trying to convince them that I couldn't understand a word they were saying.

Jayma: (On her role in Heroes) Being a part of such an amazing show and playing a character that I immediately loved was wonderful. When I was cast, I don't think anyone quite knew how popular the show was going to be, so all of that was a wonderful surprise. And working with Masi was phenomenal, he is one of the most giving and talented actors I know.