Alex Newell, who finished as a runner
up on the Oxygen reality show The Glee Project, guest starred
Tuesday on 'Glee' as Unique, the show's first transgender character.
On the episode, Wade, a member of rival
glee club Vocal Adrenaline, confides in gay student Kurt (played by
Chris Colfer) and Mercedes (Amber Riley).
“Ever since I was a kid, I would play
this game,” Wade says. “Where I would pretend I was a different
person. The person I dreamed of being. The real me. I even have a
different name. Unique.”
“I hope one day you have enough
courage to be him,” Kurt says
“Actually, Unique's a her,” Wade
answers.
Later, fearing for Wade's safety, Kurt
and Mercedes attempt to dissuade Wade from performing as Unique.
“I've worn some flamboyant outfits,
but I've never dressed up as a woman,” Kurt says.
“That's because you identify yourself
as a man. I thought you of all people would understand,” Unique
responds. (Watch Unique performing Boggie Shoes in the video
embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
On the possibility of playing a
transgender character, Newell told The
Hollywood Reporter: “Not too many television shows shed
light on that, it's that hidden thing that not everybody wants to
talk about. But it is there and there are people that want to be able
to turn the television on and see somebody else who is just like
them. I feel like if I were able to that, I'd be beside myself and
happy.”