As role model for gay community, Colfer finds spotlight daunting
BY IAN SPELLING, EDMONTON JOURNAL OCTOBER 20, 2010
Back on May 18, 2009, Chris Colfer was a regular kid, a talented, singing-and-dancing, Californian teen who had appeared in some community-theatre productions, acted in a short film and recently completed the pilot for a Fox show called Glee, an oddball sort of show whose appeal, if any, was hard to predict.
The next day, thanks in large part to an assist from the juggernaut American Idol, Glee exploded into the American zeitgeist. Colfer's life hasn't been the same since.
Glee was launched as a regular series several months later, and quickly emerged as a ratings hit in its own right, setting in motion a cottage industry of CDs, tie-in products, iTunes releases and concert dates. It also transformed Colfer, who plays the sweet-voiced, high-note-hitting, openly gay fashionista student Kurt in William McKinley High School's New Directions glee club, into an instant star and role model.
"It's been absolutely crazy," the now-20-year-old Colfer says. "For us it has to feel similar to what the American Idol kids feel like when they go from absolute nothing to a huge, huge, huge world. It's been incredible. I could write a book about it.
"The best part is knowing that the role I play and the material I'm given affect so many kids out there," he continues. "Getting the letters from them that make you bawl your eyes out, I think that's the best part of it. Some of these kids need something like my character just to cope with everyday life. People are excited that there's someone like him on television, that is his own character, who isn't the sidekick or punching bag in every scene, and who has his own storyline and is his own person.
"The worst part is the whole fame aspect," Colfer adds, "because I personally never wanted to be a celebrity or wanted to be famous. But that comes with the territory."
During Season 1, Kurt quickly won the affection of viewers, and executive producer/co-creator Ryan Murphy wasted little time before increasing Colfer's workload. Audiences watched Kurt pine for fellow glee-club member Finn (Cory Monteith), kick for the football team and connect with his father, Burt (Mike O'Malley), a widower whose love for his son supersedes his discomfort with his son's homosexuality.
Season 2 of Glee debuted in September (airing Tuesday nights), and so far -- among other developments -- Kurt has pleaded with Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) to let New Directions perform Britney Spears songs and struggled with his religious beliefs after Burt suffered a heart attack.
Speaking by telephone from his Los Angeles home on a recent Saturday morning, Colfer previews things to come in the next few weeks.
"There's a lot of amazing stuff and a lot of controversial stuff too," the young actor says. "I think the controversial stuff will get people's attention very, very quickly. And there will be more of Kurt finding himself, which is exciting."
OK, but what Kurt fans everywhere really want to know is the truth behind two hot rumours of the moment: Will Kurt finally have a boyfriend? And does Colfer play Riff-Raff in the upcoming Rocky Horror Picture Showthemed episode?
"I can't wait for everyone to see the Rocky Horror episode," Colfer says excitedly. "Oh, God, I don't know what I can say. Damn, I really, really want to tell you what I'm playing in that."
As to that other rumour ... "I'm kind of torn on the whole boyfriend thing," Colfer says, "because my only request was that he be less attractive than me, because I really didn't want to be the weak link in the couple. I wanted it to be kind of mutual, looks-wise. Then they hired (Chord Overstreet, who plays McKinley newcomer Sam), and I'm not sure if he's going to be the boyfriend now, which I think was the popular belief. I know that I thought it, but now it may or may not happen with him, so people will have to tune in to see."
For all that, however, it's the father-son moments that resonate most with Gleeks and with Colfer himself. Plenty more such moments are on the way, the actor promises, as Kurt helps Burt recover from his heart attack.
"Without trying to give credit to myself or Mike -- and even Ryan Murphy said this -- (the Kurt-Burt relationship) is kind of like the show's emotional backbone. Kurt and his father are from two different worlds, but they're bonded. It's that whole acceptance thing of, 'I know you're different, but I love you anyway because you're who you are.' It's 'You're my kid' and 'You're my dad.' That's something that needs to be seen by people, and it's fortunate that it's being seen on television."
It's no secret that Colfer himself is gay. He's out and happy, and he tries to be a solid role model for those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. But it's not always easy, he concedes, to live with all eyes seemingly on him at all times.
"Unfortunately, in the world we live in, if I ever were to do anything stupid or say anything stupid, all the credibility of the character would be taken away. I want to be able to have fun, so it's a huge pressure and I do think about it every day. I probably think about it too much.
"If somebody had to be a role model, I think I'm a good candidate, in the sense that I really don't do anything obviously stupid or wrong, and I'm pretty smart with my judgments."
He chuckles. "But I'm a very, very strange, awkward person," Colfer says. "So I don't know why anybody would want to be me."
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BY IAN SPELLING, EDMONTON JOURNAL OCTOBER 20, 2010
Back on May 18, 2009, Chris Colfer was a regular kid, a talented, singing-and-dancing, Californian teen who had appeared in some community-theatre productions, acted in a short film and recently completed the pilot for a Fox show called Glee, an oddball sort of show whose appeal, if any, was hard to predict.
The next day, thanks in large part to an assist from the juggernaut American Idol, Glee exploded into the American zeitgeist. Colfer's life hasn't been the same since.
Glee was launched as a regular series several months later, and quickly emerged as a ratings hit in its own right, setting in motion a cottage industry of CDs, tie-in products, iTunes releases and concert dates. It also transformed Colfer, who plays the sweet-voiced, high-note-hitting, openly gay fashionista student Kurt in William McKinley High School's New Directions glee club, into an instant star and role model.
"It's been absolutely crazy," the now-20-year-old Colfer says. "For us it has to feel similar to what the American Idol kids feel like when they go from absolute nothing to a huge, huge, huge world. It's been incredible. I could write a book about it.
"The best part is knowing that the role I play and the material I'm given affect so many kids out there," he continues. "Getting the letters from them that make you bawl your eyes out, I think that's the best part of it. Some of these kids need something like my character just to cope with everyday life. People are excited that there's someone like him on television, that is his own character, who isn't the sidekick or punching bag in every scene, and who has his own storyline and is his own person.
"The worst part is the whole fame aspect," Colfer adds, "because I personally never wanted to be a celebrity or wanted to be famous. But that comes with the territory."
During Season 1, Kurt quickly won the affection of viewers, and executive producer/co-creator Ryan Murphy wasted little time before increasing Colfer's workload. Audiences watched Kurt pine for fellow glee-club member Finn (Cory Monteith), kick for the football team and connect with his father, Burt (Mike O'Malley), a widower whose love for his son supersedes his discomfort with his son's homosexuality.
Season 2 of Glee debuted in September (airing Tuesday nights), and so far -- among other developments -- Kurt has pleaded with Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) to let New Directions perform Britney Spears songs and struggled with his religious beliefs after Burt suffered a heart attack.
Speaking by telephone from his Los Angeles home on a recent Saturday morning, Colfer previews things to come in the next few weeks.
"There's a lot of amazing stuff and a lot of controversial stuff too," the young actor says. "I think the controversial stuff will get people's attention very, very quickly. And there will be more of Kurt finding himself, which is exciting."
OK, but what Kurt fans everywhere really want to know is the truth behind two hot rumours of the moment: Will Kurt finally have a boyfriend? And does Colfer play Riff-Raff in the upcoming Rocky Horror Picture Showthemed episode?
"I can't wait for everyone to see the Rocky Horror episode," Colfer says excitedly. "Oh, God, I don't know what I can say. Damn, I really, really want to tell you what I'm playing in that."
As to that other rumour ... "I'm kind of torn on the whole boyfriend thing," Colfer says, "because my only request was that he be less attractive than me, because I really didn't want to be the weak link in the couple. I wanted it to be kind of mutual, looks-wise. Then they hired (Chord Overstreet, who plays McKinley newcomer Sam), and I'm not sure if he's going to be the boyfriend now, which I think was the popular belief. I know that I thought it, but now it may or may not happen with him, so people will have to tune in to see."
For all that, however, it's the father-son moments that resonate most with Gleeks and with Colfer himself. Plenty more such moments are on the way, the actor promises, as Kurt helps Burt recover from his heart attack.
"Without trying to give credit to myself or Mike -- and even Ryan Murphy said this -- (the Kurt-Burt relationship) is kind of like the show's emotional backbone. Kurt and his father are from two different worlds, but they're bonded. It's that whole acceptance thing of, 'I know you're different, but I love you anyway because you're who you are.' It's 'You're my kid' and 'You're my dad.' That's something that needs to be seen by people, and it's fortunate that it's being seen on television."
It's no secret that Colfer himself is gay. He's out and happy, and he tries to be a solid role model for those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. But it's not always easy, he concedes, to live with all eyes seemingly on him at all times.
"Unfortunately, in the world we live in, if I ever were to do anything stupid or say anything stupid, all the credibility of the character would be taken away. I want to be able to have fun, so it's a huge pressure and I do think about it every day. I probably think about it too much.
"If somebody had to be a role model, I think I'm a good candidate, in the sense that I really don't do anything obviously stupid or wrong, and I'm pretty smart with my judgments."
He chuckles. "But I'm a very, very strange, awkward person," Colfer says. "So I don't know why anybody would want to be me."
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