The Canadian actor confessed he spent time in rehab after abusing drugs and alcohol as a teenager.
Cory said he started skipping school as young as 13 to smoke pot and get drunk, quitting high school by 16.
“I’m not Finn Hudson,” he told Parade magazine, referring to his clean-cut Glee character. “I’m lucky on so many counts — I’m lucky to be alive.”
When asked what kind of drugs he would abuse, Cory responded: “Anything and everything, as much as possible. I had a serious problem.”
Cory's family staged an intervention when he was 19, after he was caught stealing money from a relative. But even then, he wasn't cured.
“I did the stint but then went back to doing exactly what I left off doing," he said.
It wasn't until Cory moved in with a friend and got a job as a roofer that he really focussed on getting better and ditching his drug and alcohol demons - he also, funnily enough, worked with an acting coach.
“I don’t want kids to think it’s okay to drop out of school and get high, and they’ll be famous actors, too,” Cory said.
“But for those people who might give up: Get real about what you want and go after it. If I can, anyone can.”