‘The Monster She Married’: Matthew Morrison on ‘Unsettling’ Role Far From ‘Glee’

Gleeks may be taken aback seeing Matthew Morrison in the new Lifetime movie The Monster She Married. The thriller premiering October 10 sees the Glee star play Dr. Josephakis “Joe” Charalambous, a disgraced British Columbia family physician who groomed a teen named Shelley (Molly Saunders). The two would marry, leading to years of abuse and trauma. Shelley finally breaks her silence amid sexual misconduct allegations that her husband faced. Days before a teenage patient was set to testify against him, she is murdered.  

The movie is based on the true-crime book “Fatal Prescription: A Doctor Without Remorse” by John Griffiths, which was ripped from the headlines.  Joe was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy in 1994 and sentenced to life without parole eligibility for 25 years. In January 2025,  Charalambous lost his latest attempt to be freed. Here Morrison opens up about stepping into such a departure from Will Schuester. The actor, dancer, and singer also speaks about returning to the Broadway stage. 

What were your initial thoughts about taking on such a devious role? 

Matthew Morrison: I wasn’t familiar with this story before the project came to me. I think learning that it was based on a true story immediately gave it a different weight. I went through my usual process of diving into a character. What mattered to me was keeping the people affected in mind throughout my preparation. You’re making a film, but you’re also portraying something that people actually live through. I think that deserves care. I think what stayed with me was the betrayal of trust. I think Shelley, the woman at the center of the story, first knew this man as her doctor. Someone who was supposed to protect her. I think knowing that there were real lives behind the story made me just pause and think about the responsibility of taking it on. I just wanted to approach it with care for the people who experienced it.

You have played a darker type character within the medical field before like that turn in Grey’s Anatomy. Where did you pull from for this particular part? 

I love it when people know me from Grey’s Anatomy, but, I think most people know me for [Glee]. I think this Lifetime role is a long way from the choir room. As an actor, I think it asks something different of me, and I always welcome that challenge. Typically, I’m not the person that people go to for this kind of role. When it is offered to me, I love it, like, I love it so much. I think what interests me most about this is what my character is able to gain. and how he uses it. He has this outward charm. I think those are the scariest people. The ones that are just so charming that you just never would expect it. I think that that charm is a part of what makes this story so unsettling. I just wanted to portray that honestly, while never losing sight of the harm that he actually caused.

There are definitely some disturbing scenes. What was it like building that trust on set with Molly?

It was important for me to really establish a relationship with Molly, who’s the actress playing Shelley. I was offered this part, and then two weeks later, we were filming it. I literally flew to Vancouver, and I got Molly’s contact. I asked to have some sort of meal beforehand. We ended up having a great meal, just talking about life, and how this story resonates with us. We had one day off between that lunch and filming. We were like, “Do you want to get together and just go through all the scenes?”

Film and TV is interesting because I’m used to being in the theater, where you have a lot of rehearsal time. Everything’s about rehearsal and getting it right. TV and film, you kind of just show up on the day. You have your lines memorized. You don’t know what the set is going to look like. You know where you’re going, but you never talk about this scene with the person. So we had a full day of just going through the whole script and really just diving into it, and having great conversations about everything. It was just really great to have a partner who was really ready to just dive into it as much as I love to do it.

Did you feel that added pressure knowing Shelley and her family may be somewhere watching this? 

Yeah, I think there’s definitely an added sense of responsibility, and I’m conscious of that. That a dramatization is one version of a story, and that the real people’s lives extend far beyond what we can show on the screen. I still have to do the work of understanding the character, but also understanding the behavior. That understanding doesn’t mean excusing it. I think that distinction matters a great deal in this role. I think the story’s just very important to tell. I hope it creates a space for people to talk about grooming and abuse and the misuse of trust. I’m especially interested in the compassion that we bring to Shelley. I think it’s easy to just look at someone else’s life and ask, “Why didn’t they leave?” I hope audiences spend time just really considering what she was facing and what support she actually needed. I think for me the reason to tell this story is to bring attention to the people affected and the cost of the abuse.

On the topic of Glee, what do you make of the news of Ryan Murphy continuing to make moves for a series reboot? 

Well, you know how it works at McKinley. Nothing’s official until Sue Sylvester gives her stamp of approval. I don’t know. I don’t want to talk too much about it. I don’t know too much about it, but I think I’m going to need a signed permission slip before I have an answer for that one.

Fair enough. Have you been watching Harry Shum Jr. on Dancing with the Stars?

You know what, I don’t watch much TV. I have two young kids that I’m trying to keep away from screens. I haven’t watched the actual show, but I’ve been watching his dances every single week on my phone. I’m not surprised how he is doing because I know what a talent he is. I’ve known him for a long time. I sent him a message that really said I’m so proud of you I’m so excited for you and all your journey and everything. I remember we did this hour-long episode on The Oprah Winfrey Show back in the day at the height, actually the very beginning of Glee. He always remembers she was asking me questions about stuff, and I kind of took the spotlight off of me and put it on Harry. I said that I can dance and stuff, but this is the next generation of dancers and stuff. Harry and I had a freestyle battle on stage on the Oprah set. So, he wrote back something about that moment. He’s like, “I’ll never forget that moment where you kind of just brought me into the spotlight.” I’ve always known he’s so gifted, and I’m just really just happy to see his career, and where he’s gone and taken his talents. I feel like him being on the show is like him being back home in a way.

You played this teacher, but in many ways it seems you see them as your kids even after all these years.

I just kind of get chills thinking about it. There’s a sense of pride that I really carry with each of them with their successes and as I watch them. I was playing the teacher in the role, but I think we all feel that for each other because we were in the trenches together for so long. Then to see each other, the exploration of this wild career that we’re all in, and it can take you so many different ways. Pride is the word that really just comes to me a lot.

News just broke about your return to Broadway’s Just In Time as Bobby Darin later this month. How is it returning to that stage? 

I got to do the role I think in April for three weeks. It was perfect for me because a Broadway show means signing on for a year contract and doing a show for a year, which is not where I want to be in this place in my life. I want to be present and proactive as a father. But for me, heading back again, just means I did a good job so they want me back, which is always reassuring. I’m so excited about it because last time I did it I just learned it. I was figuring things out. Now I have such a sense of ownership of the role, the ownership of the room. I’m really excited to jump back in, and hopefully the muscle memory will kick back in. I’ll just have a little more freedom and fun with it. But also, I’ve been touring with my own concert, my solo show, called Show Up. I’m going to be working towards an album pretty soon with that. 

I’m in this place where I’m just finding this love of singing that I haven’t had in a while because I think singing, for me especially coming up on Broadway, became such a job. Now finding the joy of it again and really being able to use that tool to connect with an audience as myself in my own show. Then to also grace a Broadway stage again for the first time in 10 years. I’m in this new kind of season of my life. It feels really good. I’m really happy right now.

After doing this Lifetime movie, are you looking to do more of these types of dramatic roles? 

I’m so fortunate that I’m in a place right now in my life where I’m turning down a lot of work because it needs to be special for me to leave my family and to go and do a job. This particular one shot in Vancouver, which the family was able to come out for a significant part of. It’s not about the money for me anymore. I’m really grateful that I can say that when something like this comes along, that I get to dive into a character that really pushes my boundaries, pushes my comfort zone…I really enjoyed this one. This one was actually really a pleasure for me, even though it was challenging to dive into that kind of world…I’ve never done a Lifetime thing before. The care that they took into this process was really reassuring, and the care that they brought to the set was beautiful. I thought the whole thing was really well done. I’m proud of what we came up with.

The Monster She Married premiere, October 10, 8/7c, Lifetime