List of Glee characters

The initial main cast encompassed club director and Spanish (later History) teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), Will's wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), and eight club members played by Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz.

William Michael "Will" Schuester (Matthew Morrison) is McKinley High's Spanish teacher who becomes director of the glee club, which he renames New Directions, hoping to restore it to its former glory.

In the season one finale, Sue judges in favor of New Directions at regionals, though they come third to rival clubs Vocal Adrenaline and Aural Intensity, and are disbanded for failing to place.

(Main Season 1–4) Finn Christopher Hudson (Cory Monteith) is overheard singing in the McKinley High locker room shower by Will Schuester and subsequently blackmailed to try out for the glee club, New Directions.

Glee's executive producer Brad Falchuk responded that while he understood the concern and frustration of disability advocates, McHale had the singing and acting ability, talent and charisma required for the role.

[96] In the third season, Beiste continues as football coach, and is recruited by Will to co-direct the school musical West Side Story with guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) and Artie.

[103] Jones received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work as Beiste in Glee's second season, and submitted her performance in the episode "Never Been Kissed" for final judging.

Unique is dismayed by the publicity and pressure, but after a pep talk from Kurt and Mercedes, performs and wins the MVP award at Nationals competition, though Vocal Adrenaline comes in second to New Directions.

In the episode "Glease", Kitty, who had been the other candidate for Sandy, convinces Marley that she is genetically predisposed to be overweight by secretly taking in her costumes, and that she needs to induce vomit in order to maintain a desirable weight.

Alistair (Finneas O'Connell) is a McKinley High student who transfers in during the sixth season of the show and was first introduced in "Child Star" as a friend of Roderick who Spencer (Marshall Williams) is smitten with.

[113] Although he attends Celibacy Club meetings, Jacob behaves in a sexually forward manner toward Rachel, threatening to sabotage her musical career unless she shows him her bra, blackmailing her for a pair of her panties in the episode "Throwdown" and masturbating over video footage of her in "Britney/Brittany".

Rebecca Faye "Becky" Jackson (Lauren Potter, narration as Queen Elizabeth II provided by an uncredited Helen Mirren[132]) is a member of the Cheerios with Down syndrome, who becomes a sidekick to Sue.

"[145] During the second season, show co-creator Ryan Murphy noted that "Glee is by nature optimistic and I think a character like Karofsky could turn to booze or pills or alcohol and kill themselves or do something dark.

She returns in the fourth season's "Sadie Hawkins" as a member of Tina's "too young to be bitter" group, but regains her confidence, dances with Joe Hart, and announces that she's applied to go to Harvard on a wrestling scholarship.

[155] James Poniewozik of Time commented positively on Suzy's characterization, observing that while she appeared to be a "throwaway dorky-girl stereotype", she was "fleshed-out as a person", a feat he doubted the series would have been capable of earlier in the season.

John Lock is frequently shown waiting for Finn Hudson to relinquish the drums to him, and Spencer Conley was featured in amongst the glee club females in their performance of the "Start Me Up / Livin' on a Prayer" mash-up in "Never Been Kissed".

Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel) is the coach of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline during season one, described by Murphy as "a sort of Faye Dunaway of Network".

[17] He is blackmailed by Sue for most of the first season: she uncovers internet footage of him appearing in a support stocking commercial for Mumbai Air,[25] and she later drugs his drink and takes a compromising photograph of them in bed together.

Roz manages to convince Principal Figgins to appoint her as cheerleading co-coach, which outrages Sue who doesn't want to share power, though the two team up to teach the glee club girls that spousal abuse is nothing to joke about.

Dustin Goolsby (Cheyenne Jackson) is the director of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline who replaces Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel) when she leaves the post after leading the team to four national championships in a row.

[171] Jackson was originally considered for the role of Will,[202] and in 2009 was initially cast in the Glee episode "Acafellas" as Vocal Adrenaline choreographer Dakota Stanley, but he was unable to perform due to illness.

[203] Harmony (Lindsay Pearce) is introduced in "The Purple Piano Project" at an Ohio mixer for future applicants to the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYADA), and is one of a group of aspiring students to have been attending monthly since they were freshmen.

When the McKinley glee club challenges the Warblers for the right to use Jackson, Sebastian throws a slushie spiked with rock salt intended for Kurt that injures Blaine – damaging his cornea and requiring surgery to repair.

In the season 2 episode "Prom Queen", he returns to Ohio after having flunked out of UCLA, in an attempt to befriend Rachel again, claiming that his biggest regret was choosing Vocal Adrenaline over love.

He returns in the season 6 episode “We Built This Glee Club”, where he tries to convince Rachel to join him in a new Broadway show she had auditioned for, a role she was offered after some encouragement to the producers from Jesse.

In a controversial essay for Newsweek, critic Ramin Setoodeh wrote that Groff, who is openly gay, was unconvincing as the straight Jesse ("he seems more like your average theatre queen; a better romantic match for Kurt than Rachel").

[228] Senior Dalton Academy Warblers from the second season include Wes (Telly Leung), David (Titus Makin, Jr.), and Thad (Eddy Martin), who run the group's meetings.

[240] Ivonne Coll plays Santana's grandmother in "I Kissed a Girl";[241] Gloria Estefan appears as her mother, Maribel Lopez, in the graduation finale to the third season, "Goodbye".

Rod and Sue had a brief relationship shortly after his wife drowned that began and ended in the episode "Mash-up"; she caught him making out with his co-anchor, Andrea Carmichael (Earlene Davis).

Bryan appears in "Dream On" as a school board member, out to cut district arts programs and the McKinley High glee club in particular as revenge for the latter giving him false hope back when he was its lead singer.