Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990 in Clovis, California) is an American actor, singer and author. He grew up outside of Fresno, CA, doing oral interpretation for the speech team in high school as well as participating in the drama club and doing community theatre, including the role of Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music.
Then, one day, he auditioned for a little show called Glee.
Show creator Ryan Murphy was impressed by Colfer's talent and charm; while he actually auditioned for the role of wheelchair-bound nerd Artie, Murphy scrapped a preplanned character and replaced him with the character of Kurt Hummel (named after Colfer's prior role as Kurt from Sound of Music, and the cherubic Hummel figurines), a Camp Gay countertenor. Much of Kurt's character was inspired by Colfer and Murphy's own struggles growing up gay. Since the show's premiere, Kurt went on to become one of Glee's most beloved characters, in large part due to Colfer's heartfelt portrayal. (Even Television Without Pity adores him.) He won a Golden Globe Award for his work on the series in 2011, and scored Emmy nominations in both 2010 and 2011. He made the Time 100 in 2011, with Dianna Agron writing a blurb about him.
Colfer has expanded his work beyond Glee. He wrote, executive produced and starred in the 2012 coming-of-age comedy film Struck by Lighting, further wrote a young adult novel based on the film, and wrote the pilot script for a potential television series based on the book The Little Lost Witch.
Colfer also made a series of children's novels titled The Land of Stories, publishing the first book in 2012. By 2017, he'd published five more books in the series, along with a few related collections of short stories, all of which were equally well-received. Currently, he is writing a prequel series to The Land of Stories titled The Tale Of Magic, which has been as well received as its predecessor.
He also has a thing for Alpacas.
Exhibits:
- Adorably Precocious Child: Often mistaken for one due to being Older Than He Looks:Colfer: Yeah, and honestly, I hate being so young because I feel like those are the kind of questions I never get asked. Usually people ask us, “Who’s your favorite Jonas brother?” rather than “What were you feeling in this scene?”
- Alliterative Name
- Brutal Honesty: There's no doubt he's extraordinarily grateful to Glee for propelling him to stardom, but nevertheless Colfer can sometimes be pretty harsh on the show compared to his colleagues. He's come down on it for perceived flaws such as its Narm, the second season's preference for popular songs over ones that fit the scenes better, and talked the writers into changing a scene that potentially Ukefied for Kurt. Also isn't afraid to say things that might upset the show's huge shipping fanbase; he has a decidedly cynical take on Kurt and Blaine's relationship and seems to think of Klainers as having a bit of a Fan Dumb, although how much of it is just the usual good-natured ribbing and how much of it is legit annoyance at some of the... weirder things they've said to him is arguable:"Be scared. Be very scared." - his advice to Grant Gustin on Klaine fans.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: He developed his incredible vocal range simply by continuing to sing in a high pitch into adolescence, thereby retaining his childhood range even as his larynx grew to encompass much lower notes too.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- So deadpan that sometimes people actually take him seriously when he's snarking, and then raise a fuss over something he was obviously being sarcastic about.
- Although his fans are completely in the know, and usually find the deadpan jokes to be the most hilarious. Quite a few people laughed out loud when he described everyone waiting for Blaine and Kurt to kiss as perverts.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy / Sibling Yin-Yang: He has affectionately referred to his little sister as a 'jock'.
- Older Than They Look: Got pulled over by cops because they didn't believe he was old enough to drive, despite being 20 years old at the time.
- Performance Artist: Yeps. He's been doing musical theater all his life.
- Self-Deprecation: He is quite a fan of this type of humor, particularly when discussing his voice and his appearance; in a
Funny Moment in an interview with Conan O'Brien, he compared himself to the child from The Omen. - Smoking Hot Sex: Referenced.
Sort of. - Vocal Dissonance: He sounds like a girl. This throws some people. And by "like a girl," we mean "could possibly rival Kristin Chenoweth for most beautiful soprano singing voice in showbusiness." And yet, he also has an incredible range, from soprano to a baritone; one radio show flat-out refused to believe that his deep notes in 'Give Up The Funk' weren't computer-manipulated until he gave them a live example on air.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Jane Lynch called him this almost verbatim and often talks about his "inner grandma". Has also been called an "old soul" by David Permut, Kevin McHale, and (according to Colfer) random psychics in airports.
