Cory Monteith, star of the hit show "Glee," had just finished wrapping up a movie before his tragic death on July 13. According to Hollyscoop, the 31-year-old had just finished filming a crime drama called "McCanick" in which he plays a drug addicted street hustler.
In the movie, Monteith plays Simon Weeks a junkie who was in prison for murder. After being let out on parole, the detective who helped convict him (played by David Morse), is out to get him. A clip of the move was released on Tuesday and shows a long-haired Monteith in an intense scene with Morse.
It was announced that the movie would be making a debut at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Many of the actor's fans were shocked at the similarities between the character and Monteith. Last month the actor was pronounced dead at his Vancouver hotel room, an autopsy report revealed that his death was due to lethal mix of heroin and alcohol, Hollyscoop reports.
In an interview with US Weekly, the movie's director Josh Waller said that he believed the experience of playing a drug addict on screen helped him deal with his own personal issues. No one knew - not even his girlfriend Lea Michelle - that Monteith was still struggling with his drug addiction.
"He looked at it as an artistic experience but also something of a cathartic experience," Waller told US Weekly. "The first time that we met he was pretty open about his past, and as it turns out, I guess he's always been very open about it, in terms of the press, which I think is very smart."
Waller said that he believed Monteith was accepting of his struggles and saw the role as his way of trying to deal with his own addictions. When Monteith saw the final cut of the movie he was "moved, emotionally" and was pleased with what he had been able to do for the role.
"He sent me a really beautiful email that evening just stating how much excitement he had and how much pride he had on the work that he had done," Waller said. "Which I'm glad, because I know I thought he did an incredible job... And you know sometimes for actors it's hard to watch themselves on screen or to acknowledge when they've done a good job, and he didn't come right out and say, 'I did great!' But he was very proud."
Check out a clip from "McCanick" below.
