When Life Imitates Art...Did Late Cory Monteith's Last Movie 'McCanick' Drive Him to Death?

From the trailer, we find that Cory's character, Simon Weeks is a 17 year old boy who was tried and convicted for murder and is now being haunted upon release by Detective Eugene 'Mack' McCanick, the police officer who sent him to jail. Usually one step away from being nabbed and with help from a few allies, Weeks remains elusive from the predatory detective who seems to want Weeks for reasons that remain unclear. However, haven been described by one of the characters as a man who's «done bad things, but is not a killer», it becomes clear that Detective McCanick is on a personal vendetta with his haunt for Weeks. With its gritty undertone and quick-paced action, the 'McCanick' trailer makes for an intense, character-driven movie from the first look.

According to movie director, Josh C. Waller, Cory Monteith was the last person he envisioned for the role. In his words: «In my mind, I was envisioning a teeny little drug guy (for Weeks), but Cory Monteith is this tall, strapping man,». Cory however won him with his determination more so because Cory had himself battled drug addiction from his early teens. So just how far into his personal experiences did Cory tap to bring Simon Weeks to life? Director Waller further said:  «When I met with him, he wanted to do it so badly. He was very vocal about his past, and said he wanted to tap into things from his youth that he hadn’t been able to use as an actor yet. He didn't say it was a cathartic experience, but you could sense it»

In view of this, could it be possible that the role drove Cory to his eventual demise? The actor's drug battle had been a long-standing problem haven started experimenting with alcohol and marijuana from the age of 13. At 16 he dropped out of school altogether and turned to petty theft to support his increasing drug and alcohol addiction. However when he was 19, his mother and a group of friends staged an intervention and he began attending a rehabilitation program.

He remained clean after that and began his foray into acting landing several small roles in television series like Smallville, Supernatural, Stargate Atlantis and the movie Final Destination 3. In 2009, he landed a recurring role on 'Glee' which shot him into prominence and from then on it seemed like he had finally gotten on the right path. In September 2012, Cory began filming 'McCanick' in Philadelphia which reportedly had a «microbudget» and was a «labour of love for all involved». It wrapped shooting a few weeks afterwards even as he continued with his role on 'Glee'. In March 2013, roughly 6 months after shooting 'McCanick', Cory announced that he would be checking into rehab for substance abuse following an emergency intervention by the Glee cast and crew at the Paramount lot. His girlfriend and co-star, Lea Michelle announced her support for her man and in April, Cory completed the program. So the question is, was Cory really free of substance and alcohol abuse?

Going by the autopsy report which revealed that he died from a lethal overdose of heroin and alcohol, its clear that he was far from free. But more importantly, the question that begs to be asked is did his role in  'McCanick' demand too much of him as an actor and person to the point of driving him back to his old life of drugs and booze? Prior to the role, it would be safe to surmise that Cory had been largely free of drugs and booze so could it be that Cory's role as a drug addicted, ex-convict forced him to face and eventually succumb to demons he thought were long buried? From the trailer it's clear that the role was a demanding and personally relatable one to the late Canadian actor and whether or not it drove him to his untimely death is a question Cory Monteith takes unanswered to his grave.

Meanwhile check out the 'McCanick' movie trailer and let's know if you think the movie triggered the demons that led to his demise.