Chris Colfer has admitted that he was "terrified" when he found out that his Glee character Kurt Hummel would be openly gay.
The 34-year-old played the loveable high schooler on all six seasons of the Ryan Murphy comedy-drama, with one of the character's key early storylines seeing him coming out and standing up to homophobia.
Recalling getting the part when he was just 18, Colfer told The View: "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."
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.' And they said, 'Don't worry. As long as you never address it, you'll be rewarded for it in the end.'"
Colfer went on to ignore the advice and came out just a few months after the show started and has now been with partner Will Sherrod for 11 years.
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