Watch: Chris Colfer Was 'Terrified' of Gay 'Glee' Character, Told to Stay Closeted

Chris Colfer, who played out gay character Kurt Hummel on "Glee," recalled his "terrified" reaction when he first read a script for the show and shared how he was told he'd wreck his career if he came out, Variety reported.

The 34-year-old actor spoke to how his upbringing influenced the way he initially felt about the role.

"I grew up in a very conservative town where being openly gay was dangerous," Colfer said during an appearance on "The View," Entertainment Weekly relayed.

Colfer, who is also a prolific author, was promoting his new opus – a YA novel titled "Roswell Johnson Saves the World," his 20th published book.

"I remember when I got on 'Glee,' the role was written for me, and I did not know what the role was gonna be," the actor went on to say, "and so I opened the script and when I read the script for the first time was when I saw that it was an openly gay character and I was terrified."

The advice he got from others didn't help, Colfer disclosed, telling the hosts of "The View" that he "had a lot of people tell me, 'Do not come out whatever you do because it will ruin your career.' So I hid for a little bit. But I also told them, 'I can't hide it with my voice... I'm more effeminate than most people. I can't hide it.'"

Even so, Colfer recalled, "they said, 'Don't worry. As long as you never address it, you'll be rewarded for it in the end.'"

But a memorable moment with a fan of the show changed everything.

"We went on this big poster signing tour right before the show came out," Colfer recounted, "and this little boy secretly slid me an envelope when his parents weren't looking and I opened it up and it was a little note that said, 'Thank you.'"

"And there was a little paperclip chain that was the colors of the rainbow," the actor added, "and in that moment I knew I have to come out."

Colfer came out early in the show's six-year run, publicly revealing is truth in 2009, EW recalled.

"At the time, I was thinking, 'Okay, yeah, if I'm an openly gay actor, yeah, I may never win a major award,'" Colfer said. "But I think being a beacon of positivity and providing that comfort for people is way more important than attention."

Regardless of whether his public embrace of authenticity cost him acting gigs, Colfer's books have been challenged and banned due to their inclusion of LGBTQ+ and strong female characters – as well, Colfer said, as the fact that he's an openly gay author.

"It's never fun when people show up with guns to school board meetings and demand that your books be taken off the shelves," Colfer said on "The View."

"It's a really, really unfortunate time that we're living in when books like mine, that are completely innocent, are being targeted simply because of who wrote them."

Watch Colfer's appearance on "The View" below.