For digital creator and actor Chris Olsen, Pride isn’t just a month — it’s every single day. The 24-year-old star, who will be in Discovery+’s upcoming The Book Of Queer, spoke to HollywoodLife.com in an EXCLUSIVE interview about his current work, mental health and the most profound messages he receives about being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, which may surprise you. “The DMs that have had to biggest impact on me are when someone says to me, ‘I didn’t know how I felt about gay people before, I’ve never come in contact with a gay person, but your content really enlightened me,'” Chris recalled.
“That really opened my mind up to how important visibility is, and showing people who may have a very small window in life that these people that you’re condemning, and these people that you’re trying to take the rights away from are so similar to you in so many ways,” he continued. “If you just opened up the ability to have a conversation with someone in the LGBTQ+ community, you would be able to realize that. Projects like The Book Of Queer or even something as simple as my TikTok, being able to reach certain people that were unsuspecting or haven’t been able to come in contact with these kinds of stories before, are really going to help in that way.”
Chris first rose to fame on TikTok when fans couldn’t get enough of his pandemic love story with fellow creator Ian Paget. While the two have since broken up, their content has remained as popular as ever, with Chris showcasing all sides of his personality, from his therapy sessions to his love for coffee.
@chris “I am still depressed tho”
“I really pride myself on being able to share the things I’m going through authentically in the moment, but it can be tough, because sometimes there’s things that I’m not ready to talk about, or there’s things that I’m not ready to share,” the creator, who hails over over 7.7 million followers, said. “Going through the breakup was, I think, probably the first big practice I had with that. When the breakup actually happened, I did not share it right away, and we kind of had an agreement to not share it right away. I knew we both knew there was a lot that we needed to process, without the pressure of a lot of eyes on us at that time, and I think that was a big learning experience of being like, ‘I will share what I’m going through when I feel ready.'”
Since his skyrocket to fame, Chris has checked item after item off of his bucket list, which included attending the Academy Awards (and witnessing that Will Smith slap as an added bonus), and signing with his new agency, CAA. “I play catch up with myself over the amount of amazing things that have happened,” he gushed. “I have a gratitude cry every month!”
@chris If something like this happened to me it can and will happen to u. I love u ok ???
In the upcoming The Book of Queer, Chris stars as Epaminodas in the upcoming June 16th episode, and helps inform audiences of the “queerness interwoven” in stories throughout history. “If it’s written about in the textbooks, it’s talked about as a ‘close friend,’ or something like that. Queerness is all around us, and has always been all around us. I think that’s what the series really highlights, and is really important for the world to hear,” he told HL. “It’s campy, and it’s fun. It’s supposed to educate while also making you laugh, which I think is the special part of the show.”
Looking ahead, the actor will be working on his first independent film this summer and at the same time is developing his own coffee brand. Be sure to tune into Chris Olsen’s social media for all the updates on what’s to come and watch The Book Of Queer on Discovery+!