Vote for Chris at the 2011 TIME 100 Poll!

Age: 21

Occupation: Actor

Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0

Chris Colfer certainly impressed producers when he auditioned for the television show Glee: they created a part especially for him. Playing the openly gay teen Kurt Hummel has not only earned Colfer (who's openly gay himself) a huge fan base, but it's also earned him awards. And it was during his acceptance of the latter that he was able to give a shout-out to the former. After receiving the 2011 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a series, miniseries or TV film, Colfer gave his own personal It Gets Better message to his fans, who like him, faced bullying because of who they were; he held up his award in their honor.

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