In His Own Words: Cory Monteith on Fame Struggles

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In the days since Cory Monteith's untimely death, much has been said about the Glee star's struggles. Speaking with ET Canada at the height of his fame, Monteith opened up about the difficult transition from a troubled teen to a bonified celebrity.

At ease in his home country during the 2010 interview, the then 28-year-old revealed that he had difficulties adjusting to Los Angeles' glitz and glamour.

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Said Monteith, "It gets a little, um, I don't want to say fake, and I don't want to say plastic, that's too much… But just, it's a little surface. You know, in Hollywood because it's Hollywood. It's this big thing. But here [in Canada], it's just real."

Of his experience on Glee, the actor told ET Canada he was almost grateful to have a do-over of his high school years because, frankly, the first go-around wasn't exactly ideal.

"I didn't have much of a school experience. I left school early, I was a bad kid. You know, got into a lot of trouble," explained Monteith, who first sought treatment for substance abuse at 19. "This school experience is much better than mine. This is almost like, a chance for me to go back and have a high school experience."

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Though his high school redo left him significantly more wealthy than he had ever been, Monteith prided himself on living within the budget of a broke college kid.

"I don't spend too much money," he said. "I like to keep it in the bank. Eat tacos, you know? One day if I have bazillions of dollars, and private jets and everything else, I hope I'm still eating tacos."