‘Glee’ Stars Jenna Ushkowitz and Harry Shum Jr. Would “Eat the Worst S—t” to Make Kissing Scenes “A Little More Interesting”

Jenna Ushkowitz and Harry Shum Jr. had some fond memories to share from their time on Glee, including the gross foods they used to eat to spice up their countless kissing scenes.

Speaking on a recent episode of the And That’s What You Really Missed podcast, Shum Jr., Ushkowitz, and Kevin McHale laughed about how much they had to kiss on the show, which aired on FOX from 2009 through 2015.

“Making out is so awkward [on camera], especially when you have to do it over and over again and trying to make it interesting,” Shum Jr. said. “I remember you and me used to eat the worst shit that we could think of, to just make it a little more interesting.”

The pair giggled as they recalled the weird snacks they used to eat before filming kissing scenes, from sour cream and onion chips to PB&J sandwiches.

“We had to kiss a lot on the show. Like, a lot a lot— like, more than most couples I feel like,” Ushkowitz said.

Ushkowitz recalled that they once had to make out in the background for the entirety of Lea Michele‘s performance of “Jar of Hearts” in Season 3, which Ushkowitz says she shot “like eight times.” They even had to kiss on a rollercoaster at one point.

Shum Jr. joked that he felt like he had to give an “Emmy Award-winning kiss” in order to impress director Eric Stoltz, sparking laughs from Ushkowitz and McHale.

After pointing out earlier in the episode that Shum Jr. had limited screen time or lines earlier on the show, McHale joked, “It’s like, ‘We might not have lines, but we’re going to kiss.'”

All of that kissing must have paid off for the on-screen couple – Ushkowitz and Shum Jr.’s characters had the longest-running romance on the show.