# Chris Colfer
**Chris Colfer** (born 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author best known for playing [Kurt Hummel](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurt-hummel) on the Fox musical comedy series *Glee* from 2009 to 2015, a role that won him a Golden Globe Award and brought two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and for writing the bestselling children's series *[The Land of Stories](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-land-of-stories)*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990, in Fresno, California; raised in Clovis, in the San Joaquin Valley[1](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/chris-colfer) |
| Breakthrough role | Kurt Hummel on *Glee* (Fox, 2009–2015); the character was created for him by Ryan Murphy after he auditioned for the role of Artie Abrams[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/chris-colfer) |
| Awards | Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2011); Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2010 and 2011[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/chris-colfer) • [3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/) |
| Signature books | *The Land of Stories* series (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), six books from *The Wishing Well* (July 2012) to *Worlds Collide* (2017), plus the prequel series *A Tale of Magic...*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/chris-colfer) • [4](https://time.com/4678857/tom-hanks-book-fiction-2017/) • [5](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/c47bdf8e-37f3-4353-b63b-5f82ede29bf0/52fd2eb3-0faa-4cd4-ac66-6618d83afe37/Hachette%20November%202020%20Presentation.pdf) |
| Film work | Wrote, starred in, and executive-produced *Struck by Lightning* (2012), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival[3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/) |
| Recent work | Lead role of Boyd in the horror film *The Restoration at Grayson Manor* (2025); 21st book, a young readers' novel featuring Roswell Johnson[3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/) • [6](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/epIsMfRDjjC10SR27TuuewMpm__Z0bae/) |
| Recognition | Named to *TIME* magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world[7](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/chris-colfer) |
## Early life
Christopher Paul Colfer was born in [Fresno, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/fresno-california), and his family moved soon afterward to nearby Clovis. As a child he helped care for his younger sister, Hannah, who has epilepsy. At eight years old he performed as Snoopy in a local play and decided he wanted to become an actor, a goal his parents supported[1](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/chris-colfer).
At Clovis East High School he joined the speech and debate team, the drama club, the writers' club, and the school's literary magazine. In his senior year he wrote and directed *Shirley Todd*, a musical spoof of *Sweeney Todd*. He was bullied at school over his voice and, later, his sexual orientation, though he had not yet come out publicly at the time[1](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/chris-colfer). By thirteen he had a talent agent, and he and his mother regularly made the eight-hour drive to Los Angeles for auditions[1](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/chris-colfer). He also acted in community theater, appearing in *West Side Story* and as Kurt von Trapp in *The Sound of Music* with Good Company Players[3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/).
## Glee and Kurt Hummel
In 2009 Colfer auditioned for *Glee*, a new Fox series about a high school [show choir](https://www.edgepedia.org/show-choir), created by television writer and producer [Ryan Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-murphy-producer). He sang "Mr. Cellophane" from the musical *Chicago* and did not get the part he wanted, the wheelchair user Artie Abrams, which went to [Kevin McHale](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-mchale-actor). Murphy was impressed enough to create the character of Kurt Hummel specifically for him[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/chris-colfer) • [1](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/chris-colfer).
*Glee* premiered in the fall of 2009 and ran for six seasons, through 2015. Kurt's fourth-episode storyline, in which he comes out as gay to his father, drew wide praise, and Colfer publicly acknowledged his own sexuality in interviews around the show's debut[1](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/chris-colfer). Commentators later credited the character with helping bring gay teenage storylines into mainstream American television; *TIME* noted that *Glee* was among the first high school shows to take sexual identity head-on with Kurt's introduction[8](https://time.com/3937496/gay-marriage-supreme-court-ruling-tv-shows-changed-america/).
**Awards.** Colfer won the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, and was nominated for the [Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-award-for-outstanding-supporting-actor-in-a-comedy-series) in both 2010 and 2011[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/chris-colfer) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3182094/awards). He also received three consecutive People's Choice Awards for Favorite Comedic Television Actor, according to his Los Angeles Theatre Works profile[7](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/chris-colfer).
During the series he also moved into writing for it: the 2014 episode "Old Dog, New Tricks" was his writing debut for *Glee*[3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/). He appeared with the cast in the concert film *Glee: The 3D Concert Movie* (2011)[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_colfer).
## Writing career
Colfer has said he began writing the story that became *The Land of Stories* when he was seven years old, after his mother told him to "just write your own fairy tale"; he worked on it while his sister was hospitalized with epilepsy. He wrote most of the published books while filming *Glee*, outlining chapter by chapter and drafting in spare hours and weekends[11](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/77166-just-write-your-own-fairy-tale-chris-colfer-on-his-land-of-stories-series.html).
He signed with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and the first novel, *The Land of Stories: The Wishing Well*, appeared in July 2012. The series, about twins who fall into a world where fairy-tale characters live, reached six books, concluding with *The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide* in 2017[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/chris-colfer) • [4](https://time.com/4678857/tom-hanks-book-fiction-2017/). He followed it with a prequel series set in the same universe, *A Tale of Magic...*, whose first book follows Brystal Evergreen in a kingdom where women are forbidden from reading and magic is outlawed[5](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/c47bdf8e-37f3-4353-b63b-5f82ede29bf0/52fd2eb3-0faa-4cd4-ac66-6618d83afe37/Hachette%20November%202020%20Presentation.pdf). The Associated Press described him in 2023 as a "million-selling author" known for *The Land of Stories* and *Tale of Magic*[12](https://apnews.com/article/a352eeecb1add79210fba2429dbfe1cc).
**Roswell Johnson.** In October 2023, Little, Brown announced *Roswell Johnson Saves the World*, a space fantasy for young readers about an 11-year-old named for the [New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-mexico) city associated with 1947 debris and alien-life theories, scheduled for publication on June 4, 2024[12](https://apnews.com/article/a352eeecb1add79210fba2429dbfe1cc). The series continued with *Roswell Johnson Saves the Galaxy!*, which Colfer toured to promote, and by the time of his 2025 *CBS Mornings* appearance he had published his 21st book[13](https://thelandofstories.squarespace.com/) • [6](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/epIsMfRDjjC10SR27TuuewMpm__Z0bae/).
**Screen adaptations.** Warner Bros. acquired *The Land of Stories* for adaptation as a major motion picture, with Colfer reported to be writing the screenplay and directing[13](https://thelandofstories.squarespace.com/) • [11](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/77166-just-write-your-own-fairy-tale-chris-colfer-on-his-land-of-stories-series.html).
## Film and other acting work
Colfer wrote, starred in, and executive-produced the coming-of-age black comedy *Struck by Lightning*, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2012. He plays Carson Phillips, a high-school misfit who blackmails classmates into contributing to his literary magazine; the cast included [Rebel Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebel-wilson), Allison Janney, Dermot Mulroney, and [Christina Hendricks](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-hendricks)[3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/) • [14](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/01/chris-colfer-struck-by-lightning-interview). He also novelized the film as *Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal*[15](https://thelandofstories.com/aboutbooks). He said he taught himself screenplay format by repeatedly studying a copy of [Sofia Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/sofia-coppola)'s *Marie Antoinette* at a Fresno Borders bookstore he could not afford to buy[16](https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-colfer-on-struck-by-lightning-secret-boyfriends-and-girl-fans/).
His other screen credits include [Christopher](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher) in *Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie* (2016), Tony Chase on *Hot in Cleveland*, the role of Ryan Kendall in the staged reading of *8* directed by [Rob Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-reiner), and the voice of Kosy in the animated series *Ridley Jones* (2021–2022)[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_colfer) • [3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/) • [17](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3182094/). In 2025 he starred as Boyd in the horror film *The Restoration at Grayson Manor*, which screened at the Glasgow Film Festival in 2026[3](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/).
## References
1. [Chris Colfer | Biography | Research Starters, EBSCOhost](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/chris-colfer)
2. [Chris Colfer | Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/chris-colfer)
3. [Chris Colfer | Broadway & Theatre Credits, Bio, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Colfer/)
4. [Tom Hanks and 5 Other Actors Publishing Fiction in 2017, TIME](https://time.com/4678857/tom-hanks-book-fiction-2017/)
5. [A Tale of Magic..., Hachette November 2020 Presentation](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/c47bdf8e-37f3-4353-b63b-5f82ede29bf0/52fd2eb3-0faa-4cd4-ac66-6618d83afe37/Hachette%20November%202020%20Presentation.pdf)
6. [Chris Colfer releases his 21st book, CBS Mornings on Paramount+](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/epIsMfRDjjC10SR27TuuewMpm__Z0bae/)
7. [Chris Colfer | LATW artist profile](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/chris-colfer)
8. [These Shows Helped Shape America's Attitudes About Gay Relationships, TIME](https://time.com/3937496/gay-marriage-supreme-court-ruling-tv-shows-changed-america/)
9. [Chris Colfer - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3182094/awards)
10. [Chris Colfer Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_colfer)
11. ['Just Write Your Own Fairy Tale': Chris Colfer on His 'Land of Stories' Series, Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/77166-just-write-your-own-fairy-tale-chris-colfer-on-his-land-of-stories-series.html)
12. [Chris Colfer's new book series for young people will launch in 2024, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/a352eeecb1add79210fba2429dbfe1cc)
13. [THE LAND OF STORIES by Chris Colfer — What's New](https://thelandofstories.squarespace.com/)
14. [Chris Colfer on Struck by Lightning, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/01/chris-colfer-struck-by-lightning-interview)
15. [About the Books — THE LAND OF STORIES](https://thelandofstories.com/aboutbooks)
16. [Chris Colfer on 'Struck by Lightning,' Secret Boyfriends and Girl Fans, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-colfer-on-struck-by-lightning-secret-boyfriends-and-girl-fans/)
17. [Chris Colfer, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3182094/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Co to C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license