Heather Morris: It's Brittany, Gleeks!

Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks? Did you also know that Heather Morris, the 23-year-old blonde who plays dimwitted high school cheerleader and glee clubber Brittany on Fox's Glee, used to be a backup dancer for Beyonce? As she prepares to embark on the Glee Live! In Concert! tour, Morris ponders those questions and more as she shares behind-the-scenes scoop on Brittany's most memorably random moments -- like that Brittany-Santana sex subplot!

Advocate.com: You get some of the best lines on the show. If I didn't know he was gay, I'd totally suspect you were sleeping with cocreator Ryan Murphy.
Heather Morris: [Laughs] That's amazing, and I'd probably say the same thing. The things they write to come out of my mouth are so simple but so brilliant. I have a lot of fun with it, and it's so easy to do because I can just stare off and go with it.

What's Ryan like to work with?
I was actually talking with him about this yesterday. I lost my dad to cancer when I was 14, so a lot of these guys, especially Ryan, take such good care of me. Like, Ryan will take me out shopping to pick out dresses for some award shows. He's probably the kindest person in the entire world, but in a split second he can be the funniest, most outrageous guy in the world. He's monumental.

Speaking of great lines, Brittany recently asked Santana, "Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?" -- which might be the most brilliant thing she's said so far.
When I meet new people that's the first thing they say to me now. They'll be like, "Wait, I know I don't really know you, but did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?" I'll play along, like, "Oh, my God, are you serious? I've never heard that before."

That line should be on a T-shirt.
I know. You know, they do have "I Bet the Duck's in the Hat" T-shirts -- from the episode where Brittany thought a ballad was a male duck? My mom called me and was like, "I just bought some 'I Bet the Duck's in the Hat' T-shirts and I'm wearing one right now!" It was so cute.

Are they all scripted, or have any of Brittany's one-liners been your idea?
A couple of them. Like in the Madonna episode, when Jesse St. James came to join our club, when I asked, "Mr. Schu, is that your son?" I asked that in rehearsal as a joke, an improv moment, because they really look so much alike. Ryan started cracking up, and he was like, "That's amazing. Keep that." So yeah, that was my idea.

You recently performed with the Glee cast at the White House and on The Oprah Winfrey Show, two of the most major venues in all the land. I know you're both currently considered recurring as opposed to regular cast members, but I was still surprised to see you and Naya Rivera sitting in the audience instead of on stage with Oprah and the main cast.
Yeah, but we know our time will come. Yes, I work just as hard as everyone else, and I will continue to work just as hard and keep my mind set on what I want to do, so my time will come no matter what happens. You'll see that I have even more stuff coming up in other episodes, and I get to develop more. Even if it means I have to wait for the second season, I will become regular cast, and maybe I won't have to sit in the audience anymore!

So you will get an official promotion next season?
Ryan mentioned it to me as a possibility, so fingers crossed that it will hopefully come through.

Are you looking forward to the upcoming Glee concert tour?
Yeah, doing Oprah was a little taste of what it's going to be like. Obviously I've toured before, but this time it was really cool to hear people scream for you instead of screaming for the artist. Not that I didn't enjoy dancing for an artist, and I know people are screaming for other people on stage, but now people know my name and my character. Now it's, "Oh, that's Brittany from Glee!" instead of, "Oh, she's a backup dancer." I always knew there was another feeling that I wanted on stage, and that's what it was -- an appreciation of my own talent.

Neil Patrick Harris guest stars on an upcoming Glee episode, but you already got to perform with him in How I Met Your Mother's "Girls Versus Suits" musical number earlier this season. I actually spotted you right at the front at the end.
You did? I could barely spot myself, but I guess I was up front at the end. That was a long dance day, and he was working really hard, so I didn't think he'd remember me. When I met him again on Glee, he was like, "Oh, yeah, I remember you! You did How I Met Your Mother." He's really the coolest guy. He's so humble, so he came on set and was just friends with everyone immediately.

I noticed in a recent White Tie Affair music video that you have a lower-back tattoo. What does it symbolize?
That's a tribute to my dad that I got it when I was 18. It's wings and a little angel who watches over me.

OK, so is the Glee cast totally hooking up with each other off the set? What's the dirt, HeMo?
Oh, my God, you know my nickname! [Laughs] Girl, there's no dirt. We're so boring. Because we all work so hard, everybody pretty much goes home and does their own thing at the end of the day. Maybe that stuff doesn't happen with us because we spend too much time together. We're not sick of each other, but we just want to go home to our own lives.

Do you have a boyfriend?
I don't have time for a boyfriend. I wish. I'm sad and lonely. [Laughs] That's why I have gay friends to keep me company. Seriously, that's where I get my love.