Glee Newcomer Grant Gustin on Wooing Darren Criss and His Broadway Ambitions

After spending a year on the road with West Side Story, 21-year-old Grant Gustin is bringing his song and dance skills to Glee as Sebastian, a Dalton Academy Warbler who hopes to woo Blaine (Darren Criss) away from his current boyfriend, Kurt (Chris Colfer). As he prepares for his Glee debut, Gustin chatted with Billboard.com about working with Criss, potential fame and his Broadway dreams.

“He's someone you wouldn't necessarily know is gay unless you asked him, but he'd be the first person to tell you,” Gustin said of his character. “He's very confident and comfortable with who he is and what he wants. He's a guy's-guy, just a dude who happens to be gay. He's a lacrosse player, he's popular. He's after Blaine, obviously, and he's also trying to take the place that Blaine had as the leader of the Warblers. He's been referred to as a villain, which I guess is true in the sense that he's going to get what he wants and he doesn't care who he steps on along the way, but he does so with a smile on his face.”

Gustin is looking to co-star Darren Criss, who became a break-out star during the series' second season, to help learn the ropes during his first TV gig, especially if Gustin should become a star himself. “He told me nothing is going to prepare me for what's going to happen,” Gustin said. "My episode hasn't aired; no one knows who I am, no one recognizes me, I'm just me. I don't know what to expect yet I guess. Darren's great, from what I've heard from people who've known him before this all happened, he's remained the same, and very cool. I can only hope the same for myself if I'm so lucky to blow up the way that he has.”

Despite the high profile TV job, Gustin hopes to return to the stage soon. “My childhood dream was always to be on Broadway. I wanted to end up in TV and film. It's kind of flipped, and I'm not mad about it. I need that Broadway debut. I did a tour, but I need that debut and I am going to work to end up there.”

Glee returns on November 1 on Fox. Gustin will appear for the first time on the November 8 episode.