Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison Talk Holiday Traditions and TV Reunions

Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch (YouTube)

Fans of Glee are more than used to seeing Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison go head-to-head as Sue Sylvester and Will Schuester, but their off-screen relationship is far less of a stinker. This holiday season, the two have teamed up with Febreze to help eliminate the 12 Stinks of Christmas in a new ad.

Yahoo caught up with Lynch and Morrison on the set of the commercial shoot in New York to talk about everything from holiday traditions to TV reunions.

Yahoo Celebrity: How did this pairing come together?
Jane Lynch: Well, I’ve been doing stuff with Febreze for a couple years … videos and stuff like that and appearances and they said, “We want you to do this 12 Stinks of Christmas and we want a guy to sing with you, who would you like to sing with?”
Matthew Morrison: She thought of the stinkiest guy she could…
JL: Stinkiest guy I know, Mr. Matt Morrison.

Given the mini Glee reunion we’ve got going on, is there a show you weren’t in that you’d like to participate in a reunion for.
MM: Saved by the Bell.
JL: Oh really?
MM: Childhood.
JL: I would say, The Partridge Family.

Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison on Glee (Fox)

The ad plays on the juxtaposition of your personalities — what are the differences in the ways you celebrate the holidays?
MM: I don’t celebrate Christmas so… [laughs]
JL: I was going to say, “Oh my god you can’t say that, we’re doing a Christmas ad!” I have a big family, even though it’s only three kids in our family, it’s always aunts and uncles and the whole thing.
MM: And I’m an only child so it’s always very small.
JL: It’s not like you go see your parents during Christmas.
MM: No. I feel like I’m always working. … Most of my life, I’ve been doing Broadway shows and you always have to work on Christmas, so my holidays are usually working. I love flying on Christmas Day.
JL: Because nobody’s flying?
MM: The airports are completely empty on Christmas Day.

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If they made a Febreze scent of each of your dressing rooms, what would they smell like?
JL: Mine smells like Febreze. Mine smells like… linen and what is it?
MM: Cloth? Linen and cloud? Something?
JL: Whatever. The linen one.

[Editor’s note: The actual scent is linen and sky, so they were close.]

What makes the perfect Christmas episode?
JL: I think somebody coming home after some kind of an arduous journey and then finally coming home.
MM: Yeah, I think the culmination of a big dinner where everyone finally comes together. And you’ve got to see a Christmas tree somewhere.
JL: Do you remember that old Folgers commercial? They still play it at Christmas…
MM: Ooooohhhhh, yes!
JL: And the son comes home from college and the little sister sees him and he goes, “Shhhhh” and then he opens up the Folgers…
MM: And the parents wake up…
JL: …To the smell of coffee and they’re, like, “He’s home!” It’s such a beautiful commercial.

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Will that be your Christmas this year?
MM: I am working.
JL: I’ll be going back to Chicago which is where I’m from. I was just telling Matt when you came in here, I got an Airbnb in my old neighborhood where I lived and it has three bedrooms, so my sister’s going to come stay with me and I’m bringing a couple friends and it’s going to be nice. Then we’ll go down to the suburbs for Christmas Day to be with my sister’s family and then maybe spend a couple more days in the city.

So you like a freezing Christmas.
JL: I’m used to it. I’ve been in Chicago for every Christmas of my life.
MM: And then she can leave.
JL: And then I get to go back to Los Angeles.

This interview has been slightly edited and condensed.