Inside the Magical World of Chris Colfer
Millions of people may know Chris Colfer for his iconic role as Kurt Hummel on Ryan Murphy’s hit musical comedy-drama television series Glee, but he has also gone on to write 16 best-selling, young adult, fantasy books that readers cannot get enough of.
Recently rolling out his latest endeavor, A Tale of Witchcraft, it is safe to say that this book will be on your must-read list. The second installment of Colfer’s A Tale of Magic series, and technically a prequel to his critically acclaimed The Land of Stories series, A Tale of Witchcraft is full of twists and turns while an evil clan tries to exterminate magic.
Colfer’s The Land of Stories universe is described as a “modern-day fairy tale,” and more than 7.5 million copies have been sold. They are beloved around the world, continue to attract new fans, and many tackle real-world issues and topics.
OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with Colfer about his books, as well as Glee and being a LGBTQ role model.
Hi, Chris! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. How are you doing during these unprecedented times?
You know, I am doing pretty well considering everything that is going on. Pretty well in comparison to some of my friends who are struggling a bit, but I am just taking it one day at a time. I guess that is all we can do.
Congrats on your latest book, A Tale of Witchcraft! Without giving too much away, can you tell us more about it?
Yes. It is a whimsical story about a wacky coven of young witches, and it is also a story about a corrupt secret society called The Righteous Brotherhood who want to destroy magic once and for all. Everything is an allegory for hate, fear, and mental health. Hopefully, if I did my job correctly, it will be a nice way for parents and kids and their kids to talk about mental health. Hopefully readers can recognize some of the situations and feelings that the characters go through, and they will be able to identify with it and be able to talk about it.
Your books deal with so much more than what meets the eye. Do you always try to inject real world issues and topics into them?
My first series, The Land of Stories series, my main goal was just to provide kids an escape from reality. As the world has kind of shifted and gone in the direction that it has gone, I pretty much felt that everyone who is in my age group, I felt the need to instill as many compassionate values as possible and in a new generation with the hopes that hopefully one day we won’t have to be going through or see as much hatred on the news.
How has A Tale of Witchcraft been received?
So far so good! Thank God! The first two weeks after a book publication is always pretty nerve wracking because you are waiting for the first wave of readers to take you through it and send you their thoughts and feelings. So far, it has all been very, very positive, and in the vein that I was going for, it has been very well.
Your first two books, The Wishing Spell and Struck by Lightning were both released in 2012. How would you say you have evolved as a writer since then?
Oh God, I am just so much better! [Laughs]. I feel like the more you do it, the better you are at it. When I look back, I get a little embarrassed at my writing and I wish I could change it, especially with The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, but I think the beauty of that book and why it resonated with readers so much was because it was a lot of kids’ first chapter book that they read and it was the first chapter book that I wrote. I feel like there is some kind of symbiosis there. First-time reader and first-time writer colliding.
A Tale of Witchcraft is your 16th book. What keeps you motivated to write?
Really, I think the enthusiasm and anticipation. I think that is the biggest motivation, but the fact that I have such a huge demographic of readers is really the main drive. And thankfully, the books have been very successful so that helps me pay my bills. That is also a nice element too!
What do you primarily hope readers take away from your books?
My books have inspired a lot of young people to write themselves, and I think that is probably the greatest contribution I will ever give to society. Inspiring a new generation of young writers, especially with Struck by Lightning, as you mentioned, and the fifth book in The Land of Stories series, An Author’s Odyssey. If you don’t like the world you live in, create a new one within yourself. For me, that is what’s most important.
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I know you have probably answered this question a million times, but for our readers, what specifically made you want to write about magic and incorporate beloved fairy tales?
I love magic because everything that magic relies on is what’s inside of you, not what’s around you. Imagine creating something out of nothing. I have always had an overactive imagination, so I have always been drawn to the idea of magic and the idea of anyone being anything they want if they look within themselves to find the tools they need to get there.
When I was a kid, my mom used to read me fairy tales before I would go to bed every night. I was very inquisitive about the characters and their motivations for their actions. I asked a lot of questions about the Evil Queen’s Magic Mirror and why she hated Snow White so much. My mom eventually said, ‘if you’re so inquisitive, why don’t you just write your own fairy tales?’ So, I started then, and that is how The Land of Stories was born.
What was your favorite fairy tale growing up?
Sleep Beauty, one thousand percent. I love to sleep, and the idea that you take a nap for 100 years and wake up and all your problems are solved, you’re married, you got a kingdom. I think she knew what she was doing.
Can we expect a third installment of the A Tale of Magic series?
Yes, I am working on that now.
I would like to move on and ask a couple questions about Chris Colfer the actor, especially your work in Glee since that was your first major TV role. How would you say the show changed your life?
Oh my God, that is such a hard question to answer because, how did it not change my life? I don’t know where I would be right now had I not been cast as a teenager out of a small town. It was a dream come true. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work on so many fronts, and it wasn’t always the happiest place to be, unfortunately, but it was a dream come true. I am profoundly grateful that I had that experience.
Did you always have a passion for acting? What made you audition for the show?
I have always been a performer. When I was a kid, about seven-years-old, the performing bug and the writing bug bit me at the same time because as a kid, they all were just different forms of storytelling, and in my core, storytelling is my biggest passion. I started singing in my grandpa’s church, I started doing school plays which led me to community theatre, then a friend of a friend had a friend who is an agent in Hollywood, so I started going out on auditions here in Los Angeles when I was about 14. I didn’t get anything for four years. I auditioned once or twice a month for various movie and TV projects, and I got Glee right after I graduated high school. I was in college for two weeks and then dropped out to join the show.
How did it feel to know that Ryan Murphy created the role of Kurt just for you?
That is still something I have never been able to wrap my head around. Especially since it was such a terrifying time for me because up until Glee, I was just a closeted kid growing up in a conservative town like where kids get beat up for being gay. The fact that I went from a closeted kid in a farm town to arguably one of the most famous gay teenagers in the world was quite an experience.
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Playing Kurt encouraged you to come out publicly?
Absolutely. With just a little bit of honesty, I was able to do what I hope most gay actors’ dreams are, which is to provide comfort and security for a lot of people. I never thought I would be that receive letters from closeted kids around the world saying that they looked up to me, and that was it for me. I knew there was no going back after that.
Glee ended five years ago, and you still have the love of fans. That must be amazing.
It is amazing. It’s a dream because we were expecting it to die down, but thanks to streaming, it is just constantly being reintroduced to new audiences everywhere. What’s really bittersweet for me is that I still get letters from gay kids around the world who are in very oppressive places where they cannot come out of the closet for safety reasons. I mean, God, I wish I could help them more than I am able to right now, but it can be heartbreaking.
Did you ever think Glee would make such a significant impact on LGBTQ youth across the world?
No. Since they had not come up with a character yet, I had no idea that I was going to play the gay character or that there was even going to be a gay character in the show. I did know that the performing arts aspect of it, that definitely had an audience because I was very much part of that crowd. Being a performing arts theatre kid growing up, I knew that people would respond to it, but I never could have imagined that it would go on to become this huge phenomenon.
Which episode is your favorite?
Well, I like the one that I wrote [laughs]. That was really fun because I got to fly around like Peter Pan and act with Billy Dee Williams, June Squibb, and Tim Conway. That was an amazing one, if I can be selfish. I always lived for the guest stars. That was always my favorite part about Glee. Getting to sit down with people like Shirley MacLaine, Whoopi Goldberg, and Carol Burnett and hear their stories and their advice. Poor Shirley MacLaine, I stalked her. The minute she showed up on set, I completely humiliated myself. Whenever we had a great guest star, I was always on cloud nine.
What more do you hope to accomplish as an openly gay actor?
Hm, that is such a good question. It is definitely different now than it was when I first started, that’s for sure. I think people are more accepting of gay actors, I think there are more opportunities for gay actors, and I think there is finally some respect for gay actors which I do not think there was much of any of those things 10 years ago when I started. There has always been this sort of ugly expectation with gay actors where our goal should be to prove that we can play straight. That has never ever once been on my agenda. I think there are enough incredible gay people in this world. So, I hope I get to do more honest trails of what it is like to be a gay man.
Before we wrap up, are there any other projects upcoming you would like to mention or plug?
I can’t announce anything right now, but I do have a few things coming up and I am very much looking forward to it because they are very, very authentic characters.
To stay up-to-date with Colfer, follow him on Twitter and Instagram @chriscolfer. Visit thelandofstories.com for more information on books, tour dates, appearances, etc.
Photos Courtesy of Chris Colfer
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