Via Vanity Fair:
Chris Colfer plays Kurt Hummel, the diminutive, clarion-voiced, weepy-eyed gay teen on the hit TV show Glee, and in my opinion, he’s just about the best thing on it. Being an openly gay teen just a year out of high school himself, he brings this emotional truth (and some catty hilarity) to his performance. Colfer took some time out of his busy rehearsal, performance, publicity, and “retail therapy” schedule to talk to me this past weekend.
You’re a busy boy. I’ve been trying to set up this interview for months and the only time I could get you is on a Sunday morning. You’re like one of those old-fashioned child stars. I hope they don’t have you on tons of uppers—those practically ruined Judy Garland.
No. Just the non-growth hormone.
Hah! Well, what exactly have they got you doing?
Right now we’re wrapping up Season One. We wrap up filming it tomorrow. And I’ve been doing a ton of interviews and Q-and-A panels and getting ready for the big musical tour we have coming up.
I hope you’re taking some time out to buy something extravagant with all your Glee riches. Did you buy a house or a boat or a car or something?
I haven’t bought anything big, actually. The most extravagant thing I’ve bought is an iPod touch, which is kind of pathetic. And I did get a nice car. Here’s the thing about that, though. I wasn’t going to get such a nice car—I was going to get a cute little hybrid or something, keep the trees happy—but then my grandfather died, and it was all: retail therapy!
Well, one of the other things I write about for V.F. is cars, so what kind of car did you get?
I can’t tell you, on the record, because I don’t want people stalking me, or anything.
[He tells me the make and model of car, of which I approve.] Your secret’s safe with me. On to real topics! I just watched the episode of Glee that will air this week, “Home”, in which you finally get the spotlight that I’ve been begging for in my weekly Glee-caps. Are we allowed to talk about that episode?
Um, I think so.
Great. Well, first off, I was so happy to see that you finally got a real solo number of your own. Why, for the love of God, has that been so long in coming? (Or is my lame, aging brain jumbled and you’ve done, like, ten solos already?)
I have no idea. No, the only other solo I had was “Defying Gravity.” But in The Back Nine [the remaining episodes of the first season], I’m singing a lot more than I ever did before. In the episode after the next one I have two songs. I know that one of them has been announced: it’s “Rose’s Turn” from the musical Gypsy. I had more fun doing that number than I’ve ever had, period, in my entire life. It was me on a stage, and an empty audience, and a camera. I honestly believe that there’s something magical about being on a stage in a house like that.
What’s the other song? Can you give me a hint?
Well I can’t really say. But it’s probably the last song on the face of the earth that people would expect Kurt to sing. When they hear it, I think they’re going to have, like, a W.T.F. expression on their face. It’s a little bit of a political song, from the 80s’.
“A Little Bit Political Song from 80s.” I’m going to have to Google that and see what I come up with.
Try it.
So, other writers have talked about Kurt being a stereotype. But I want you to know that I don’t feel that way. I think Kurt is such a sensitive portrayal of a gay teen.
Thank you so much for saying that. Selfishly, as an actor, for myself, I’ve been working really hard to have him not be a stereotype from the beginning, so that means a lot to me. I grew up in a conservative small town, and the gay characters I saw on TV and in movies when I was growing up were all flamboyant and obnoxious and sometimes kind of annoying. And they weren’t like anyone I knew. The gay people I knew in real life were soft spoken and didn’t want to call attention to themselves because they were terrified of exposing themselves, of people finding out that they’re gay.
Well, I think you’ve succeeded. I really like the way Kurt seems to hide all his internal and personal vulnerabilities—like so many of us homosexuals do, and like so many teenagers in general do. He’s got this screen of snappy comments and false certainty that he uses with folks in his comfort zone, while in nearly every other situation, he looks like he’s about to cry.
Always. I think he cries at least once in every episode.
Is that a contractual obligation?
No, but I think it might end up being one in Season Two.
It really makes him believable. What were your inspirations for this portrayal?
I’m a very external actor. I’m about 70 percent body control and facial expression, and 30 percent working to have the emotion inside of me. There are a lot of situations that Kurt goes through on the show that I’ve gone through, personally. So I’ll be in a scene sometimes, and the emotion just sneaks up inside me. There are a lot of scenes I do where I don’t expect them to be emotional and then the emotions just come out. Not as Kurt, but for me, as me.
Kurt’s relationship with his dad is particularly well rendered. They seem locked in this honest kind of detente, in which the father is sufficiently accepting, but doesn’t really want to be “changed” by the fact of his son’s homosexuality, which always puts Kurt in the deficit position, something that becomes really important in this week’s episode. Can you talk about how those scenes work with Mike O’Malley [“Burt Hummel”]? How do you capture that emotion?
People have said that he and I have such great chemistry, which is so funny because we’ve only ever worked together for, like, seven calendar days total, when we’re actually filming our scenes. I have to give him total credit though, because he’s such an amazing actor. And he’s, like, playing the best dad on television right now. We both realize how much the material affects people who are watching out there—it’s the first time on television that a conservative father has accepted his son for who he is. We have to make sure we’re doing our best job because it’s so important to people.
So what can we expect for Kurt in future episodes? I hope he gives up his thing for Finn and finds a more rational crush object. Those crushes on the jock never really work out, except in porn, or young adult fiction.
Poor Kurt. He’s a very smart kid, but he doesn’t get that. He’s smart enough to set up this diabolical parent trap [in this week’s episode], trying to get his dad to fall for Finn’s mom, but he’s not smart enough to realize that it’s never going to happen with him and Finn. I’m told that a real love interest is on his way next season.
Is it someone on the show, or a new character?
A new character is what I’m told.
Is he going to be hot?
I personally requested he not be, because I don’t want to be the weak link in the couple. I want people to say, What’s Kurt doing with him? Not, What’s he doing with Kurt?
That’s hilarious. Do you get any say over the casting?
I hope not. That would be so awkward. I want you to be my TV boyfriend.
One of the things that thrilled me most in this week’s episode was the focus on the “secondary” characters and their stories—Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, Tina, even a little bit of Quinn—which I find much more interesting than the primary characters. Now that you’re getting a chance to shine, does this mean those hot chorus dudes are finally going to get names or lines too?
Are you talking about Mike and Matt?
They have names?!?
Yeah. Mike Chang and Matt Rutford or something, I think. And they actually have lines coming up, so they’re very excited about that. They’re definitely, like, one of us on set, and we all hang out together as equals just like anyone else. I think they’re thrilled to be a part of the show. But I feel bad for them sometimes—I’m like, Give them a line or a song or a dance or something.
Thank god. Their just being back there on the bleachers all the time was starting to creep me out. Like, they were judging me. O.K., I just have a few more questions and you can get back to your non-growth hormone regime. When I talked to Kevin McHale [“Artie”] last week, I think I convinced him to jump up out of his wheelchair and bust some moves at the last performance of the Glee live tour at Radio City Music Hall, as a prank. What kind of prank are you going to pull? I think an open mouth kiss with Corey Monteith [“Finn”] or Mark Salling [“Puck”] might be in order.
That’s funny. Though I don’t know if they would be O.K. with that.
That’s a really good question. I have a prank planned that I’m going to play on the new cast members when they come in next season. I’m going to convince them that I’m working undercover for the C.I.A., trying to catch one of the producers who’s acting as an arms dealer. I’m very convincing—I’ve been watching a lot of Alias. But a prank for the last night of the live show? Maybe I’ll cut out the ass of my jeans, so when I turn around during “Don’t Stop Believing,” it’s just all ass hanging out.
That’s a great idea. You’ll have your Ryan O’Neal in So Fine moment. Do you know that movie?
No. What is it?
It’s is a movie from about a hundred years before you were born, like, the early 80s, where a character played by Ryan O’Neal—who you probably also don’t know—causes a fashion sensation by replacing the torn back of some jeans with clear plastic. It’s a terrible movie that I saw with my mother when I was twelve.
Sounds funny.
The 80s were a very weird time. You can’t even imagine. Speaking of weirdness, any comment on Kevin Keller, the new openly gay character in the Archie comics? Do you know about that?
No. What are they doing?
The Archie comics—and who even knew they were still making Archie comics—but the Archie comics are apparently introducing an openly gay character at Riverdale High this fall.
Does it take place in the 50s? If so, good luck with that.
Hah! No, I think it’s in the present tense. The background of the comic apparently moves forward in time, but the characters all stay in high school forever. [Think: Dorian Grey meets Sisyphus.]
Oh. I was going to say, that would be difficult if it was in the 50s. The kid would have McCarthy coming after him or something. But, if it’s in the modern age, that’s great. They’ll be exposing that kind of character to a wide group of people who may not have experience with gay people.
I have a theory that since Kurt has become such a beloved character—he’s America’s sweetheart—that other folks, like the Archie people, have suddenly decided that they need to get an adorable gay boy into their outlets too.
I’ve noticed a lot of that in different things. Different tv shows, with very similar situations with a dad and a son. I’m not saying they’re copying us. But I’m definitely implying it!
Well keep doing what you’re doing. I was invited to speak to a Queer/Straight Alliance group at a high school in Chicago the other day, and you’re, like, a hero to those kids. They were all squealing when I told them I’d be talking to you.
Well thanks for saying that. That means a lot to me to hear that. Really.
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