To hear Chris Colfer talk about the number of projects he’s working, you worry he knows something about the future that we don’t — like we don’t have much time left, so get those chores done.
He certainly can’t be accused of resting on his Glee success. “I saw the final cut of the movie that I filmed this summer, called Struck by Lighting, and I think it’s good,” he says.
“The fact that I can stand it, I think, is a good sign. And I have my first book coming out next summer. I’m really excited about that; we’re finalizing the cover art right now. And then I’m still developing that show for the Disney Channel. I just got off the phone with them last week.”
Of course, all that is on top of his regular gig on a hit network TV show. Colfer, who has a Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations for Glee, could easily be called the show’s breakout star, but that’s a title his isn’t totally comfortable with.
“Just that title is overwhelming. More like the star with a breakout,” he says with a laugh. “But no, I think I would be stupid if I didn’t try to jump on that success as much as a I have.”
His Glee character, Kurt Hummel, is almost as busy as Colfer, too, between running for class president, planning for life after graduation and dealing with all sorts of new issues in his relationship with boyfriend Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss).
“They’re still together, but there’s some big things coming up,” Colfer teases.
“A character named Sebastian (Grant Gustin) comes in and tries to steal Blaine away from Kurt, and Kurt was absolutely horrified. I loved it because it was finally something different with those characters. It was so much fun to do a scene with Darren where we’re yelling at each other.”
As groundbreaking as Colfer’s portrayal of openly gay Kurt has been, he’s thrilled that Kurt and Blaine are now being treated like any other couple.
“There was a point when you could say they’re in a relationship or together, but don’t show it! We just know they’re in the corner doing God knows what,” he says.
“But yeah, they should be treated like any other couple, so they should have fights like any other couple, right? Let’s get some more fights!”
Overworked as he may be, Colfer’s hectic schedule does at least keep him too busy to worry about his critics, though he is tempted to take them on, he admits.
“Oh sometimes, let me tell you,” he says.
“I have a stack of hate mail that I just want to respond to. Maybe one day when I’m tired or tipsy or something, I’m going to respond to them and tell them what I think.”
