Darren Criss
Early Life
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.
Career
Darren Criss rose to fame starring on the television series Glee and received a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award 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 Los Angeles, 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. Criss has also starred on Broadway 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 2025, Criss won two Tony Awards, for Best Actor in a Musical, becoming the first Asian American actor to win in the category, and for Best Musical as co-producer, both for Maybe Happy Ending.
