The Disney Movie You Likely Forgot Matthew Morrison Starred In Before Glee
Actor and performer Matthew Morrison has starred in multiple plays on Broadway along with many on-screen roles since he broke onto the entertainment scene in the '90s. His first official film acting credits began in 1997, with guest spots on the television series "Relativity" and "Sex and the City." Morrison continued to get similar roles moving forward on shows like "Hack" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." At the same time, he would begin making appearances in films as well, having a supporting role as Young Jack in "Detective Fiction" and as part of the fictional boy band Boyz R Us in the 2003 comedy featuring "Friends" star Lisa Kudrow, "Marci X."
However, as many fans know, it wasn't until 2009 that Morrison truly gained mainstream stardom. Lasting for six seasons from 2009 to 2015, "Glee" featured Morrison as Will Schuster, teacher and show choir coach for William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. Will is arguably the main character of the entire series (as problematic as he often is) as he tries to use the power of music to inspire young people. "Glee" aired on Fox and remained on Netflix for quite some time before recently being removed.
Morrison was nominated for an Emmy and for a Golden Globe two years in a row for his performance as Will. Although, unlike some of his young "Glee" co-stars who hadn't worked much before the show — Morrison actually appeared in a Disney movie that you probably forgot about.
Morrison starred as Sir Harry in Disney's Once Upon a Mattress
"The Wonderful World of Disney" television series featured a number of shows and TV movies back in the early-to-mid 2000s. "Once Upon a Mattress" was one of those movies, based on the 1960s Broadway musical rendition of the fairytale "The Princess and the Pea." The original story of "The Princess and the Pea" revolves around a prince who is seeking to marry a princess but struggles to do so because none of the women that he meets appear princess-enough to him. The prince's mother devises a plan to put a pea in the bed of one young woman who came to seek shelter for a night, and because she couldn't sleep due to feeling the pea in her bed, she, therefore, must be a princess due to her sensitivity. It's a little abstract.
Matthew Morrison plays the role of Sir Harry in the 2005 Disney TV adaptation. His character is the noblest knight in the land, in love with his pregnant wife Lady Larken (Zooey Deschanel), and set off on a quest to find Princess Winnifred (Tracey Ullman) and bring her back to the kingdom. Sir Harry ultimately succeeds, although it takes help from most of the royal family to keep Winnifred from being kicked out by Queen Aggravain (Carol Burnett).
Morrison's musical background and appearance on this Disney TV movie most likely helped him land the part of Will on "Glee," and the relationships that he built doing it probably served him well too, as Burnett made multiple appearances on "Glee" as Coach Sue Sylvester's (Jane Lynch) mother.