43 Facts About Chris Colfer

Chris Colfer gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical Glee.

Chris Colfer wrote, starred in, produced, and novelized his first film, Struck by Lightning, which debuted at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.

Chris Colfer wrote The New York Times bestselling The Land of Stories series of YA books, starting with The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.

Chris Colfer was born in Clovis, California, to Karyn and Timothy Chris Colfer.

Chris Colfer knew he wanted to be an actor, but as a coping mechanism he retreated into his imagination and began writing fairy tales.

At an early age, Chris Colfer showed a passion for writing.

Chris Colfer was "born wanting to be a storyteller", using both writing and acting as ways to entertain people and escape reality.

Chris Colfer's grandmother was his first editor, advising and encouraging him in elementary school when he first attempted to write a fairytale-inspired novel, which would later become The Land of Stories.

Chris Colfer was bullied so severely in middle school that he needed to be homeschooled for half of 7th grade and 8th grade.

Chris Colfer was active in the drama club, the FFA, "was president of the Writer's Club, editor of the school's literary magazine, and captain of Destination ImagiNation".

The first show Chris Colfer acted in was a community theatre production of West Side Story.

Chris Colfer then appeared in The Sound of Music as Kurt von Trapp at Good Company Players, which later inspired the naming of his Glee character.

At age 18, Chris Colfer starred as Russel Fish in Russel Fish: The Sausage and Eggs Incident, a short film in which an awkward teenager must pass a Presidential Physical Fitness test or fail gym class and lose his admission to Harvard University.

Chris Colfer auditioned for the part of Artie Abrams, who uses a wheelchair, a role which eventually went to Kevin McHale.

Murphy explained in the season two finale of The Glee Project that Chris Colfer was the inspiration for the project show because he did not fit the role he auditioned for but was still "incredible and special" so a role was created for him.

Chris Colfer won the 2011 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series for his performance as Kurt Hummel.

In 2013 and 2014, Chris Colfer won consecutive People's Choice Awards for Favorite Comedic TV Actor.

On June 8,2011, Chris Colfer signed a book deal with Little, Brown and Company to write two novels for children.

The picture book, written by Chris Colfer and illustrated by Brandon Dorman, The Curvy Tree was released in October 2015 and is based on a short original fairy tale of the same name, which Chris Colfer first told in The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.

In June 2017, it was announced that Chris Colfer would make his directorial debut with a film adaptation of The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.

Chris Colfer would write the script and serve as one of the executive producers on the project.

Chris Colfer wrote, starred in, executive-produced, and novelized the coming-of-age comedy film Struck by Lightning.

Chris Colfer landed a deal with the Disney Channel to adapt the book The Little Leftover Witch for a television pilot.

Chris Colfer wrote another movie, set in an asylum, which he planned to appear in as a supporting actor.

In 2014, Chris Colfer guest starred on an episode of Hot in Cleveland as Tony, Victoria's son.

In March 2015, Jane Leeves posted an image on Twitter confirming that Chris Colfer would be returning to an episode titled "All About Elka" in the show's final season.

On May 14,2015, it was made public that the biopic Chris Colfer has been mentioning for almost a year was going to be about Noel Coward with the working title Noel, with Chris Colfer in the title role.

Chris Colfer had been offered the role by Jennifer Saunders after he invited her to the Glee: Live tour in 2011.

Chris Colfer appeared as a guest judge in Chopped Junior.

In 2017, Chris Colfer announced he would develop a new TV show called Indigo, a sci-fi drama about indigo children who are misdiagnosed as having mental or physical illnesses, when they really possess supernatural abilities.

TV Line reported that Indigo would be offered for sale to streaming services and television networks, with Chris Colfer writing and directing the pilot episode, and co-executive producing with Keith Quinn and Rob Weisbach.

In 2012, Chris Colfer released a companion book to his film Struck by Lightning, called Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal.

In early 2017, Chris Colfer released his second book for young adult readers called Stranger Than Fanfiction.

On October 1,2019, Chris Colfer came out with a new book, A Tale of Magic.

Chris Colfer has been in a relationship with actor and producer Will Sherrod since 2013.

Chris Colfer appeared on the British chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in June 2010, together with his fellow Glee co-stars Amber Riley and Matthew Morrison.

Chris Colfer demonstrated his skill with a pair of sai, revealing that he bought a pair on eBay and regularly practices in his trailer.

Chris Colfer mentioned that he would like it if his sai could be worked into an episode of Glee; they first appeared in the season 3 episode "I Am Unicorn", during Colfer's character Kurt Hummel's performance of "I'm the Greatest Star" from the musical Funny Girl.

Chris Colfer is an active supporter of the It Gets Better campaign and The Trevor Project, creating an It Gets Better video after the Glee episode "Never Been Kissed" aired; he dedicated his 2011 Golden Globe Award to bullied kids in LGBTQ communities.

In 2013, Chris Colfer filmed a public service announcement with Elmo about anti-bullying for Sesame Street in Communities, and participated in the Course of the Force run benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

On Hollywood Game Night, hosted by Glee co-star Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer won $6,000 and donated it to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of America.

Chris Colfer was a co-chair for the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party in 2013 and 2014.

Chris Colfer is a coalition member of Uprising of Love, an organization which supports the safety and dignity of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Russians.