"Glee" cast member reflects on death of Cory Monteith

Mike O'Malley/coutesy of CBS

LOS ANGELES -- Mike O'Malley was at the TV Critics press tour Saturday night to talk about his upcoming sitcom, "Welcome to the Family," but he took time out to reflect on the passing of his former "Glee" co-star Cory Monteith.

"He played a fictional quarterback on the show, but he was also the very real quarterback of that set," said O'Malley, who played Monteith's stepfather on the series.

O'Malley said the scene in which he kicked Monteith's Finn out of the house for using a deragotary term was the toughest scene he's ever acted in. "It was remarkable to me that he was able to do that scene over and over again and have such depth of emotion," he said.

O'Malley said he'll most likely make an appearance in "Glee"'s third episode, which is set to be a tribute to the actor.

"I just loved working with him," he said. "I'll miss him very much."

In other NBC news:

The network is working on a six-hour miniseries about "Cleopatra," as well as a Hillary Clinton mini-series, which will feature Diane Lane as the former First Lady. No word yet on who will play her husband. NBC is also workign on a remake of "Rosemary's Baby," a new version of Stephen King's "Tommyknockers" and a Mark Burnett-produced project about the pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock.

Coming up later today: Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes.