Actor of the Week: Darren Criss

If you search Google for Darren Criss, what automatically pops up on the search bar is: Darren Criss-Glee, Darren Criss-Gay, Darren Criss-Girlfriend, and Darren Criss- Interview. America has become–dare I say obsessed, for better words lets go with–interested with this man’s life. Sure Darren is an absolute heart throb, from the dark curly hair to those steamy eyes; we get it. But who is Darren Criss? What was his life like before Glee? And how has he taken America by storm?

Darren is not only an actor, he’s a musician, a songwriter, a brother, and a son. Looking at past interviews, Darren doesn’t really know he’s, what most people put it, “hott”, but ask any other person out there, and they’ll tell you “Darren is an angel sent from heaven”. Cliche? Absolutely, but if that’s what it takes for his fans to describe him then so be it. Is it the combination of his naiveness to his amazing looks with his warm and friendly personality that makes his fans so devoted?

Perform a simple Realtime search on this guy, and you’ll find out that people are talking about him non-stop; even when he hasn’t done anything to attract the media besides being on Glee. Take a look: The time is currently 8:17 pm on May, 17th, 2011:

Darren Criss: Before the Fame

Before delving into anything else about Darren, we have to know who he is as a person before the fame, before Glee, and before A Very Harry Potter Musical. Darren grew up in San Fransisco, California. It was there where he found his love for music. He dappled with several different instruments including drums, violin, guitar, and piano. He also played drums in a band with his brother Chuck before attending Michigan University.

While at Michigan,during his senior year at college, Darren created A Very Potter Musical. With the help of several friends and Harry Potter fans, the video went viral, and people went crazy for it. Not only did Darren play the boy wizard himself, but he also lent some of his own songs to be used in the show. The Harry Potter Musical put Darren on the map as an actor, singer, and dancer.

Let’s not forget, probably one of Darren’s biggest accomplishments is creating StarKids Productions with several other writers. StarKids is responsible for several other videos, including Me and My Dick and A Very Potter Sequel. StarKid now has a massive amount of fans who are waiting for the company’s next move. Darren, who is one of the head guys for the company, would love to continue writing and producing music for future show. Who wouldn’t want to especially when several of the songs hit the Billboard charts. Darren is a man who is always on the go.

Entertainment Weekly Photo

Darren and “Glee”

There’s no denying that Darren has gained a massive amount of fans since being on Glee. The 24-year-old actor first appeared on the episode Never Been Kissed as Blaine Anderson–an openly bisexual student at an all boys school. It is there where the story line takes us into the friendship of Kurt and Blaine.

If anyone remembers, and I’m sure you all do, his first song to premier on the show was a cover of “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry. The song went #1 on the Billboard charts and sold over 214,000 hits. For Darren this was only a taste of what he was about to experience. Other songs he sang on the show were: “Bills, Bills, Bills”, “When I Get You Alone”, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, “Silly Love Songs”, “Animal”, “Hey Soul Sister”, “Candles”, “Misery”, and “Raise Your Glass”. While being on the show has no doubt put him on the map, Darren has also started to face a lot of different questions about his sexuality.

Darren Criss And the Gay Community

Does playing a gay/bisexual character make someone gay or bi? Not by definition, yet people are still curious. People simply want to know: Is Darren Criss gay? Throughout pop culture there have been many straight men to play gay characters. There have also been many straight men to play drag queens and women, yet do we associate them with being a drag queen or a woman? Not at all. So why are we so fascinated about Darren’s sexuality?

Darren sat down with the Out Magazine earlier this year, had an interview, and talked about his life as straight man playing a bisexual character. Here’s what Darren had to say:

“I think it’s more empowering to everybody, including myself, if I’m articulate about identifying myself as a straight male playing a gay character. Ultimately, that’s more powerful for both communities.” – Darren Criss

About three months ago, Darren sat down with Ellen and talked to her about the empowerment of playing Blaine:

Personally, I don’t think it matters what Darren identifies himself with, whether he’s a straight man, a gay man, or a bi man. What matters is that he stands up for whatever it is he believes in as a human being. He’s a great actor, musician, composer, and singer, and maybe we should start seeing him for that. By the way “Rumor Has It” he has a girlfriend…

Out Magazine Photo Shoot