Glee star Chris Colfer has revealed the controversial piece of advice he received as he was starting his acting career.
Colfer is best-known for playing Kurt Hummel on all six seasons of the comedy-drama series. Kurt is portrayed as a fashion-inclined, gay high-schooler, who is often bullied.
The first season of Glee features Kurt struggling with his sexuality as he comes out to family and friends, while in the second season he is transferred to a different school after a classmate bullies him and threatens to kill him.
In a recent interview with The View, Colfer opened up about his own experiences as a gay man, and shares the advice he received when he first started his career.
“I grew up in a very conservative town where being openly gay was dangerous,” Colfer explained (via EntertainmentWeekly). “I remember when I got on Glee, the role was written for me, and I did not know what the role was gonna be, and so I opened the script and when I read the script for the first time was when I saw that it was an openly gay character and I was terrified.”
He continued: “When I started filming the show I had a lot of people tell me, ‘Do not come out, whatever you do because it will ruin your career.’ So I hid for a little bit.”
“But I also told them, ‘I can’t hide it with my voice… I’m more effeminate than most people. I can’t hide it,’” he added. “And they said, ‘Don’t worry. As long as you never address it, you’ll be rewarded for it in the end.’”
Colfer eventually decided to come out after an encounter with a young fan.
“We went on this big poster signing tour right before the show came out,” he explained.
“And this little boy secretly slid me an envelope when his parents weren’t looking and I opened it up and it was a little note that said, ‘Thank you,'” he continued. “And there was a little paperclip chain that was the colours of the rainbow, and in that moment I knew I have to come out.”
The actor eventually came out in 2009 during an interview on Chelsea Lately. He said about the event: “At the time, I was thinking, ‘Okay, yeah, if I’m an openly gay actor, yeah, I may never win a major award. I may never get to play a superhero.’ But I think being a beacon of positivity and providing that comfort for people is way more important than attention.”