Actor-singer Chris Colfer, best known for his role of Kurt Hummel in the musical comedy drama "Glee", says he was advised not to come out as gay in real life as it would ruin his career.
On the popular Fox series, the actor played the openly gay high schooler on all six seasons of "Glee", which ran from 2009 to 2015. The 34-year-old said he was "terrified" to find out that his character was a homosexual on the show. "I grew up in a very conservative town where being openly gay was dangerous. 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," Colfer told Entertainment Weekly.
The actor, who won a Golden Globe in the best supporting actor category in 2011 for "Glee", said he "hid" his true identity for a little bit to preserve his career. "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.' And they said, 'Don't worry. As long as you never address it, you'll be rewarded for it in the end'," he added. Colfer narrated an incident while he was on a tour before "Glee" when a little boy gave him an envelope which had a "thank you" note in it along with a paperclip of a rainbow.
At that moment, the actor said he knew that he had to come out publicly because being open about his sexuality was "more important" than any acting role.
"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," he said.
