Darren Criss

Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in '' The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story'' (2018). He has also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several musical albums.

A founding member and co-owner of StarKid Productions, a musical theater company based in Chicago, Criss first garnered attention playing the lead role of Harry Potter in, and writing most of the music and lyrics for, StarKid's musical production of ''A Very Potter Musical as a replacement in both ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch''. In 2015, Criss co-founded Elsie Fest which is touted as "New York City's first outdoor music festival celebrating tunes from the stage and screen".

In March 2017, Criss debuted his indie pop band Computer Games along with his brother Chuck Criss. In addition to his music endeavors, Criss starred in the second installment of Ryan Murphy's ''American Crime Story''. Subtitled ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' (2018), Criss's portrayal of spree killer Andrew Cunanan received acclaim from critics, and earned him an Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries, or Television Film.

Early life and education

Criss was born in San Francisco, California, the youngest child of Cerina and Charles William Criss, an investment banker and a patron of the arts. He had an older brother, Charles "Chuck" Criss, who was a member of the band Freelance Whales. Criss is Eurasian – his mother, a native of Cebu, Philippines, is of Chinese, Filipino and Spanish descent while his father, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was of English, German, and Irish descent. Criss was raised primarily in San Francisco, apart from 1988 to 1992, when the family resided in Honolulu, Hawaii, where his father started EastWest Bank, serving as chairman and CEO.

Criss attended Roman Catholic schools. He completed his elementary education at Stuart Hall for Boys, and later graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory in 2005. In 2009, Criss obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, majoring in Theater Performance and minoring in Musicology and Italian.

Musical and theatrical training

Criss' interest in music started in early childhood; at age five, he began taking violin lessons and was classically trained for the next fifteen years. Criss taught himself how to play other instruments, including guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, and drums. In high school, Criss immersed himself in music – he held the position of concertmaster in the school orchestra, he fronted his own band, and was voted "most likely to win a Grammy" by his peers. When he was fifteen, Criss began learning music composition and wrote his first song, which he later used as the title track of his first EP ''Human'', released in 2009.

Criss also showed an interest for the performing arts. At age ten, he was accepted into the American Conservatory Theater (Young Conservatory program) where he studied theater performance throughout his formative years. At St Ignatius, he was a member of the performing arts program and acted in work, including, ''The Music Man'', ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', and '' Fiddler on the Roof''. He was active as both an actor and director in the University of Michigan's student-run theater organizatio
Basement Arts
. In 2008, he spent a semester abroad studying Italian theater at th
Accademia dell'Arte
in Arezzo, Italy.

Career

Theatre

Debut

Criss made his professional stage debut at the age of ten as Cesario in 42nd Street Moon's production of '' Fanny'' (1997), then played Mauro in the Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim musical ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'' (1998), and Beauregard Calhoun in ''Babes in Arms'' (1999).

Throughout his adolescence, Criss appeared in a number of the American Conservatory Theater's plays, notably '' A Christmas Carol'', '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and ''The Voysey Inheritance''. At the University of Michigan, he performed in stage productions such as '' Pride and Prejudice'', ''A Few Good Men'', and ''The Cripple of Inishmaan''.

StarKid Productions

Upon receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2009, Criss, along with some friends and classmates from the University of Michigan, co-founded StarKid Productions, a musical theater company. His most prominent acting role with StarKid has been that of Harry Potter in the musical comedies ''A Very Potter Musical