Dianna Agron remembers first friend on Glee set Naya Rivera: 'She was my point person'

Quinn and Santana forever. Dianna Agron is remembering her late Glee costar Naya Rivera two years after her untimely death.

While on the Allison Interviews podcast Tuesday, Agron looked back on her time on set with Rivera during the earlier days of filming the Fox musical series, which wrapped in 2015 after six seasons. Agron portrayed cheerleader Quinn Fabray, who had a competitive and — at times, intimate — friendship with fellow squad member Santana Lopez, played by Rivera.

FOX Image Collection via Getty Images Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera on 'Glee'

The costars "instilled each other with confidence," Agron said. "Naya was my first friend on set. We were quite isolated, because we weren't involved in the entire pilot," she said. "We had our very brief moments in the pilot, and everybody else was very involved in the singing, dancing, and all the rehearsals. So, she was my point person and we kind of instilled each other with confidence in those moments."

"She was just very unique and special in the way she carried herself with such confidence and certainty," Agron continued. "If she believed in something, or in you as a person, she would always uplift those ideas. She was very, very strong in a way that I think I have adapted to moments in my own life that have been quite difficult... She had that strength in spades."

Agron said, "Any strength that I had, she had ten times more of it. It was really inspiring and nurturing to be around." She also called her late costar "wickedly funny" with "the best comedic timing," adding, "She is one of the people that I speak about when I say it's so strange to think she is not here. She had years and years of love and gifts to give people, and I was so lucky to know her."

Rivera died in July 2020 from an accidental drowning at age 33. The actress was declared missing a few days prior to being found in Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, setting off a frantic search and recovery mission. Following the news of her death, tributes from stars and Rivera's Glee costars poured in, including from Amber Riley, Heather Morris, Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Kevin McHale.

Agron also paid tribute to Rivera at the time, writing on Instagram: "To work with her was a gift. There was a great deal to absorb - her work ethic, her fearlessness, her talent - supreme. Naya had a laugh that would envelop you and hold you captive. She was mesmerizing. That twinkle in her eye, her luminous smile. Naya lead with truth, humor, wit. I loved her for all of these reasons... I cannot make sense of this tremendous loss. I will hold onto her and these memories for the rest of time."

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