Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical Glee (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received critical praise and won him several awards, including the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film, three consecutive People's Choice Awards for Favorite Comedic TV Actor from 2013 to 2015, two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations and one Grammy Award nomination. In April 2011, Colfer was named one of the Time 100, Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Colfer wrote, starred in, produced, and novelized his first film, Struck by Lightning, which debuted at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. He also wrote The New York Times bestselling The Land of Stories series of children's fiction books, starting with The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. As of September 2025, he has published twenty-one books.