Anne With An E: 10 Crazy Things You Never Knew About Cole

Originally brought to the screen in Canada as Anne, Netflix’s Anne With An E adapts Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic Anne Of Green Gables novel. The book has had a lot of different adaptations in the last few decades – from the 1985 TV miniseries to modern ballets. Anne With An E strays from the source material in order to bring modern sensibilities and diversity to the story.

Though the series was canceled after its third season, fans still press for a renewal or a movie to conclude Anne’s story. After all, there were eight books in the series that inspired the show, and only the first book provided material for three seasons. There are plenty of unfinished stories, including that of Cole MacKenzie, Anne’s friend who moved to live in Charlottetown at the end of the second season. Played by Cory Gruter-Andrew, Cole is a fan favorite that fans would love to learn more about.

10 Cole Was Created For The Show

Fans introduced to Green Gables and Avonlea through Anne With An E will have a surprise when they explore other adaptations or the original book: Cole doesn’t exist in them.

Cole MacKenzie is a brand new character, created specifically for the 2017 series. He’s not even based on an unnamed character in the novels, or expanding on a single mention of a character. Jerry, the farmhand at Green Gables, is an example of the latter. He’s mentioned as working for the Cuthberts in the novels, but he’s never fleshed out.

9 He’s An Award Winner

Anne With An E has been nominated (and won!) several prestigious awards in Canada. So has actor Gruter-Andrew for his work as Cole. In 2019, he was nominated for a Young Artist Award. Specifically, he was nominated for the Supporting Teen Artist Award, and beat out the other nominees in the category.

Cole’s storyline, as well as Aunt Josephine’s, in the second season, also saw the television show become a nominee at the GLAAD Awards.

8 He Was A Nightblood In Another Life

As a young actor, Cory Gruter-Andrew hasn’t had the chance to be in too many projects just yet. Before he landed the role of Cole, his best known role was actually in The 100.

Gruter-Andrew guest starred in the third season of the series in a handful of episodes. Those episodes centered on the leader of the Grounder nation preparing for a summit. Gruter-Andrew played Aden, one of the young Nightbloods in the running to become the next leader training under Heda Lexa. His role in the series was short lived because all of the Nightbloods training under Lexa in The 100 were killed to prevent them from succeeding her.

7 Cole’s Actor Needed Reminders Of The Fictional World

It’s easy for an actor to get lost in very emotional scenes as they tap into their own emotions to give a performance. That happened for Gruter-Andrew in one scene in particular.

He recounted in an interview that performing opposite Anne herself, Amybeth McNulty, while on the edge of a cliff and having an emotional discussion took a bit of a toll on him. Recounting the experience, Gruter-Andrew explained, “I had to take five minutes afterward, get grounded again, and calm down.” His acting coach on set recommended taking the five minutes to breathe, reminding him that he and Cole were two very different people, helping to lessen the emotional toll of the scene.

6 His Favorite Scene Was With Aunt Josephine

As Cole goes through his journey throughout Anne with an E‘s episodes, coming out to both Diana’s Aunt Josephine and Anne in the second season, most of his scenes are opposite Anne. One of the actor’s favorite scenes for the character, however, is with “Aunt Jo.”

Gruter-Andrew detailed to TV Insider that he thought one of Cole’s scenes with Josephine when she’s mourning Gertrude was an important one for him. Though Cole is looking for a moment alone, he sees a kindred spirit in Josephine weeping for her lost love. Gruter-Andrew explained, “… they have this wonderful little waltz. It was such a heartwarming scene to shoot. It was wonderful.”

5 Cole’s Art Is Not The Actor’s Art

Cole MacKenzie loves to draw. It’s what he spends all of his time doing. When his injured hands mean he can’t draw, he starts learning to sculpt. Art becomes more than a hobby for him. It’s a way to express himself, and it’s a path he wants to pursue for the rest of his life.

The actor that plays Cole might love the art of acting, but when it comes to pencil on paper or molding clay, he’s not the artistic type. Gruter-Andrew admitted in the same TV Insider interview that he “cannot draw to save [his] life!”

4 He’s Only In 11 Episodes

Because Anne With An E has been canceled, the series only includes 27 episodes total: seven in the first season, ten in the second, and ten in the third. Cole doesn’t even appear in half of those.

That can be hard to realize since Cole’s friendship with Anne becomes such a big part of the second season and he becomes such a great supporting character. Since he’s not in the first season at all, the bulk of his episodes are there, with only a few episodes in the final season of the series.

3 Cole’s Actor Had To Take A Test Before Casting

His test wasn’t an academic one. Instead, it was a screen test. Before an actor is added to an already established ensemble, it’s pretty standard practice to test the actor’s chemistry with other cast members that they’ll be interacting with.

Since Cory Gruter-Andrew would be spending most of his scenes with Amybeth McNulty as their two characters would be fast friends, his screen test was a way to make sure the two had plenty of chemistry and would be believable as kindred spirits. The two hit it off right away. The rest, of course, is now history.

2 The Actor Knew Cole Was LGBT+ From The Start

While the audience knows that Cole is a target for bully Billy Andrews right away, Cole’s feelings, and his realization that he isn’t heterosexual are part of the journey that the audience goes on with him. While the writers and producers knew from the start that Cole would be gay, Cory Gruter-Andrew only knew a little bit about Cole when he joined the project.

He did know that Cole would be part of the LGBTQ+ community since that detail was included in the character description he was given, but he wasn’t sure how. Gruter-Andrew told TV Insider, “I didn’t know if he was trans, if he was bisexual… I was kind of figuring out who Cole was as I got more scripts.”

1 Cole’s Feelings Were Illegal

The world can be a judgmental place for anyone perceived as different. That’s just as true today as it was in Anne Shirley’s  day. The difference is that some of the things perceived as “different” were illegal.

Homosexuality was one of those things in Canada. It was actually illegal to engage in anything deemed “homosexual activity” until 1969. Cole, Josephine, and many of Josephine’s friends could have been severely punished if they were discovered.

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