Brian Tuck

Chris Colfer Takes Award For Best Supporting Actor At The Golden Globes

We put the spotlight on Chris Colfer from Fox hit series Glee who won  the Best-Supporting Actor award in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television at the Golden Globes on Sunday evening.

Not since Clare Danes' 1994 teen drama My So Called Life, where Wilson Cruz played openly gay teen Rickie Vasquez, has there been such a spotlight on an openly gay teenage character.

 

Not so bad for the 20 year old actor who co-stars in the hit Fox series alongside Jane Lynch, Mathew Morrison, Lea Michelle and Jayma Mays to name a few. Born in 1990 in Fresno, California, the actor originally auditioned for the role of Artie, but producers were so impressed with him they wrote the part of Kurt Hummel for him.

The bullying storyline that has been coming to a head on the last few episodes coincides with recent It Gets Better campaigns that have catapulted the issue of homophobia into media and pop culture.  It comes in good timing along all the teen suicide prevention campaigns and is surely making a difference when it’s the talk of school and office cafeterias. The hit teen drama increasingly popular among crowds young and old-er.

Hollywood’s past fear of poor ratings to air socially responsible storylines and real characters are cast aside by Glee producers who prefer taking a lead on such issues.  Not only do they cast an openly gay teenage character who isn’t still struggling in the closet, but also casts characters with physical and cognitive disabilities, different waist sizes and varied races. It’s the most politically correct show in town that pokes fun of politically correctness. People are eating it up.

Colfer finishes his acceptance speech on this victorious note:

“But most importantly to all the amazing kids that watch our show and the kids that our show celebrates - who are constantly told "NO" by the people in their environments, by bullies at school that they can't be who they are or have what they want because of who they are. Well, screw that, kids!"

Glee has turned the tables on pop-culture and the bar has now been raised. Not only does Chris Colfer’s character battle issues in teen's current day-to-day lives, but he is a visible representation and role model for gay teens in schools today. The challenges he faces are an example of the struggles that are not much of a secret anymore. Angry mean jocks are no longer idolized and it makes homophobes look, well…gay. Gleeks are today's generations of cool kids and it’s popular to be unpopular. We look forward to more of Colfer and his new friend Blaine (Darren Criss).

Source: www.IMDB.com