AceShowbiz - Actress Jane Lynch looks to Simon Cowell for inspiration for her tough-talking "Glee" character - because the music mogul always says what he thinks. Lynch plays scathing cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester in the all-singing, all-dancing show and she admits watching the former "American Idol" judge's put-downs have helped her perfect the role.

She tells Britain's The Sun, "If ever there was a guy who tells it like it is, then it's Simon Cowell. You could definitely look at Sue and say there's a lot of Simon in her. He's a great inspiration for the character of Sue - there is a lot that I can take from him and put into her. Just like him, she says what she wants because she can - there is nobody there to tell either of them to stop."

"The show has been a big hit and I'm amazed at the public's overwhelming response to Sue. I think it falls back to the whole Simon Cowell thing. Simon and Sue say the things people wish they could in their jobs or at their school, but can't because it's not the done thing. Everybody has a bit of Simon and Sue in them, the difference is that most people control it."