Jane Lynch Breaks All the Rules

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Jane Lynch Breaks All the Rules

Jane Lynch ran away from her first acting job. "I was so afraid of failing that I just walked away from it and joined the tennis team."

Now she regularly does the sort of work that many actors would find daunting.

A veteran of the Chicago's Second City touring improvisational group, she frequently stars in projects that are partially or largely improvised.

These projects include Christopher Guest's movies like "Best In Show," where she got her first really big break, and "A Mighty Wind."

She's also a regular in Judd Apatow's movies, such as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," where she played a role originally written for a man, and "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."

Despite this, she admits that many of her choices were, in fact, driven by fear.

In spite of her love of acting, she began as a mass communications major before finally transferring into a theater program.

She didn't decide to move to LA until most of her friends had already gone there.

She breaks a lot of the traditional rules for acting and comedy. She thrives in the mostly male comedy world, she didn't make her big break until she was 40, and she's always been open about her sexual orientation.

She only just recently has started turning down work. "That part of it is brand-new to me," she said. "When you're a struggling actor, the mentality is, 'Just take it.' "

Her resume reflects that. IMDb lists 126 credits for her.

She has been starring in "Party Down" on Starz, which follows the lives of actors moonlighting as catering waiters.

However, her career is so busy right now, she's not sure she'll be able to make it for the next season.

In the meantime, she was just seen tonight as a hard-as-nails cheerleading coach on the premiere of Fox's "Glee."

This summer she'll also be seen in the movies "Post Grad" and "Julie & Julia."

No matter what project she chooses next, one thing is for sure: Jane Lynch will be doing it her way and doing great.

Gina Wilhelm Actress