Damian McGinty has opened up about how “tough” it was losing his Glee co-star Cory Montieth.
The Irish singer exclusively spoke to Goss.ie about his rise to fame ahead of the release of his new album Young Forever, which will drop on March 22.
Aside from his music career, Damian is best known for his role as Rory Flanagan in popular TV series Glee from 2011-2012.
During his time on the show, the Derry native grew close to Cory, who played jock Finn Hudson from 2009-2013.
On July 13, 2013, Cory was sadly found dead at the age of 31 in his hotel room in Vancouver, after suffering from a heroin overdose.
The actor’s family, friends and cast mates were left devastated by the news, including Damian.
Almost six years after his sudden death, Damian told us: “I remember that experience, it was tough losing Cory.”
“I shot my first scene with Cory, basically my first week on Glee was with Cory. His character [Finn] took Rory in, making him comfortable with the surroundings, and that was kind of real life as well.”
Damian also opened up about dealing with Cory’s death in the public eye, and explained, “I never really experienced something like that before, having lunch by myself and all of a sudden a bunch of media photographers came over to hound me.”
“They weren’t interested in me per say, what-so-ever, the story had just broken the night before about Cory passing away.”
The 26-year-old admitted: “It was an incoming of paparazzi, it was really strange because Cory lost his life and people just thought about a story.”
When asked about dealing with fame, Damian revealed: “It wasn’t easy at times, being so young and having that success had its moments.”
“The fame part of it had its tough moments, it was kind of weird for me. Fame is not really something that I’m into, I do this career because I love it. I really love singing, I love songwriting, performing and I really really love acting.”
Damian’s debut original album, which was twelve years in the making, will be released next week – and he’s “very excited for everyone to hear it.”
The release of his album later this month coincides with his US tour, which includes 29 shows.
The former Glee star is also set to star in upcoming Christmas film Santa Flake, which will be released in cinemas in November.
Speaking about the new film, he revealed that he worked with a “really strong cast” and described it as a “great experience.”
More than twelve years in the making, ‘Young Forever’ distills and explores the sounds, adventures, insights, and wisdom gleaned from Damian’s decade on the road with Celtic Thunder, his time on PBS and Glee, his years living in LA, and his observations and experiences of the human condition.
‘Young Forever’’ is out Friday 22 March 2019 on CD and digital formats, and is available for pre-order here.
