Lea Michele says she’s grateful to producer-director Ryan Murphy and would work with him indefinitely for the opportunities he has provided over the years.

The actress was unsure where she’d end up once her part on Glee came to a close after six seasons. But she was soon pleasantly surprised when Ryan offered her a role on Scream Queens. She now says this has been one of the greatest moments in her life to date.

She told Vulture.com: “I didn’t know I was playing Hester until the last season of ‘Glee’, and Ryan called me and it was one of the best moments of my life, because here I was thinking that ‘Glee’ was ending and not quite sure what was next.”

The star initially had a hard time believing she landed such a role and admitted that exploring a darker character was on her to-do list.

She continued: “And to get that call saying, ‘I’m writing another part for you. You’re in a neck brace, and you’re going to work along with Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts,’ I pinched myself.

I have so many things that I want to do, and getting to play a darker role like this was obviously on my list.”

Lea also thanks Ryan for believing in her ability to portray the role of Hester, a murderous character that is drastically different than her Glee counterpart, Rachel Berry.

“There’s definitely a part of me that feels like this is something that I can do and do well, but the fact that Ryan saw this in me — I wear no make-up. I don’t even put a brush through my hair before playing this character.

But I’m grateful for that because it’s helped me to grow so much. I would be happy to work with him for the rest of my life. To get another call saying, ‘This is what we’re doing’.

But I would love to play Hester for as long as possible, because she’s just brilliant.”