For context, Glee premiered in 2009 and ran until 2015, with Chris just 19 years old when he landed the role.
Speaking on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast, Chris recalled: “When I found out they had written this character for me, I was thrilled. When I finally got the script is when I realized it was the gay character, and I was terrified.”
He went on to explain that his hometown of Clovis, California, was a “dangerous” place to be openly gay, adding: “Kids would get beat up. On one occasion, someone got stabbed on their way to school. Being out and proud was not an option.”
So when he was cast in Glee, Chris said that playing a gay character was considered so taboo that one family member even told him not to accept the role because it would “ruin” his life.
