Colton Lee Haynes is a model of American origin and an actor. Mostly he is famous for his role of Jackson Whittemore in Teen Wolf, which is a supernatural drama series on MTV. His role as Roy Harper in Arrow also earned him recognition around the globe.
Early Career
He was born on 13th July 1988 in Andale, Kansas. His parents, William Clayton Highness and Donna Dennis Mitchell, lived like hippies as a result young Haynes kept relocating. Mostly, he spent his childhood on the farms far away in Andela. He went to Andale High School, in Kansas, and Navarre High School, in Florida. He graduated from Samuel Clemens High School, in Texas. During his high school, he was very fond of sports and singing. During his junior year, he won the award of Gatorade Player of the Year in tennis and was also nominated as Prom King in his senior year. During his school breaks, he worked as a Red Robin Bird Mascot at a restaurant but later turned to modelling and working with big brands.
Getting Into Hollywood
Colton Haynes started his career at the very young age of 15 years old as a model in New York City. Eventually, he hit big time when he was featured in Bruce Weber’s photo shoot for Abercrombie and Fitch. Later, he modelled for Ralph Lauren, J.C. Penny, Kira Plastinia, and Verizon. He was featured in editorial magazines like Arena and Teen Vogue.
He made his cameo appearance in 2007 in the movie Transformers. Haynes was seen in CSI: Miami and The Hills and a music video called I Don’t Love You. Then, in 2008, he got a chance to star in the television series called Privileged and Pushing Daisies, and always and forever. He also appeared in a few short-lived television series before he got a chance to show his raw talent in the MTV series, Teen Wolf, and later he acted in another popular series called Arrow.
Not only is this actor good at his modelling and acting skills, but he also embarked on a singing career in 2014 he recorded 19 You+Me with New Heights. He even released his single Baby It's Christmas in partnership with Travis-Atreo in 2013. Eventually, with plenty of success coming from the television network, he got his first major film San Andreas in 2015.
The following year he starred in a TV series called The Grinder in the episodes The Retooling of Dean Sanderson and Divergence. In 2017, it was announced that Colton would be appearing in the television series American Horror Stories as a main character. In the same year, he also landed the role of Real Scooty in the American dark comedy Rough Night sharing space with Scarlet Johnsson.
Colton’s Struggles
Colton has always struggled with anxiety due to his sexual orientation. However, he came out of the closet in 2016 in an interview with Entertainment Weekly and revealed that he is gay. He and Jeff Leighton, a celebrity florist, announced their engagement later on the 11th of March 2017 after having a long-term relationship. In 2017, he was nominated for the OUT100 magazine and was recognized for self-actualization. Publicly in 2019, he acknowledged his drinking problem saying, "In 10 years, there were maybe 25 days I didn't drink. I remember when I started, it was a couple of glasses of wine, and it regressed into really dark times."
Also Read : Colton Haynes Accepts Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award, Promises to Lead by Example