Heather Morris has turned out to be one of the funniest people on "Glee." Which is kind of funny because, well, she's not really an actress.
Or she wasn't before she started playing Brittany, the not-very-bright cheerleader.
"Heather Morris is just a total comic genius," said executive producer Brad Falchuk. "Occasionally, we would just kind of toss her a few lines, and then they ended up being so shockingly hilarious."
"Sometimes I forget my middle name." — Brittany
Morris wasn't hired because of any acting ability she possesses. She was hired because she's a dancer.
After barely missing the finals of "So You Think You Can Dance" in 2006, she landed a small part in the 2009 movie "Fired Up."
Not that that did much for her career, but it did introduce her to choreographer Zach Woodlee. And he got her dancing parts in episodes of "Eli Stone," "Swingtown" — and "Glee."
"I'm pretty sure my cat's been reading my diary." — Brittany
In early episodes, she was just one of the cheerleading underlings to Quinn (Dianna Agron). But, eventually, the writers started to "toss her a few lines."
"We have such an incredibly talented cast that a lot of stuff comes out of just sort of being with them and seeing what they do and seeing what they're good at and seeing what makes them laugh and what about them makes us laugh," Falchuk said. "Someone like Heather ... had never really acted before and yet is so brilliantly funny and brings something so special that it started really entertaining us to start putting her in there and giving her stuff. And it sort of really developed out of that."
"When I pulled my hamstring, I went to a misogynist." — Brittany
It's not that being Brittany requires great acting skills. But, somehow, Morris delivers her lines just right — the perfect sweet, somewhat vacant deadpan.
And sometimes her comments come completely out of the blue.
"Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?"— Brittany
And, while Brittany isn't always nice, she's somehow always likable. Even even when she's doing the bidding of evil Cheerios coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), she's still somehow sweet.
Even when her more-than-questionable morals are mentioned, she's still somehow lovable.
"(Lady Gaga) changes her look faster than Brit changes sexual partners." — Kurt
"It's true."— Brittany
But one thing Brittany definitely is not is smart.
She doesn't know how to turn on a computer. Recipes confuse her. She doesn't know her right hand from her left.
She has to copy Quinn's test answers because, she says, "I just don't understand anything."
Heck, for reasons that are unclear, Brittany used to keep a bird in her locker.
"Ballad ... Who can tell me what this word means?" — Mr. Schuester
"It's a male duck." — Brittany
Brittany has also become half of an unlikely comedy team with mean-girl cheerleader Santana (Naya Rivera).
Like when the two of them ate their meal at a restaurant, then demanded a second helping from the waitress.
"This food was not satisfactory," Santana said.
"There was a mouse in mine," Brittany said.
And, like making Brittany a comic character, the pairing with Santana was "random," Falchuck said.
"They're like this kind of weird, wonderful, brilliant, comedic duo that we stumbled upon, which was totally unintentional," he said. "It's such a gift to have them; they're both really good and really funny. They're absolutely my favorite stuff to write now."
"Brittany, you're supposed to be in your wheelchair." — Santana
"I lost it." — Brittany
However it came about, Brittany has been a happy accident in what has turned out to be a happily accidental hit.
Not much of anybody gave "Glee" a real chance before it debuted, but it's turned into a success.
Not only has it been renewed for a second season, but Fox has already renewed it for a third season, as well. And both seasons will run 25 episodes, three more than the usual 22-episode order.
So Brittany will have plenty more hilarious things to say over the next couple of years.
"I've been here since first period. I have a cold. I took all my antibiotics at the same time. And now, I can't remember how to leave." — Brittany
If you watch:
What: The first-season finale of "Glee"
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
Channel: Fox/Ch. 13
Plot preview: It's the big showdown the series has been building to all season — our heroes in New Directions take on the soulless automatons in Vocal Adrenaline at the Midwest Regionals. But Sue Sylvester manages to get herself on the judging panel. And there's even more drama when Quinn goes into labor.
e-mail: pierce@desnews.com