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Darren Criss

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Darren Criss
Born (1987-02-05) February 5, 1987 (age 37)
San Francisco, California
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)actor, singer-songwriter
Known forYouTube musicals

Darren Everett Criss[1] (born February 5, 1987) is an American television actor, singer-songwriter and Internet personality. He is best known for his portrayals of Harry Potter in A Very Potter Musical and Blaine in the second season of Glee.[2]

Early life and education

Originally from San Francisco, California, Darren Criss is half Filipino[3] and half Irish. He attended Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. As a child, Criss played a variety of instruments, some of which include violin, guitar, piano and drums. During this time, he played drums in a band with his brother, Chuck, until Chuck moved to New York City to develop his music career (and subsequently join the indie rock group Freelance Whales).[4] Criss went on to the University of Michigan, graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance, Acting.[5][6]

Career

Criss is part of the theater production group Team StarKid, formed by theater students at the University of Michigan. His most popular role with Team StarKid was as Harry Potter in the YouTube viral hit A Very Potter Musical, and A Very Potter Sequel. Both productions are musical-comedies based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. [7] He is credited with writing half of the songs in A Very Potter Musical[8][9][10] and all of the songs in A Very Potter Sequel.[9][11] He is also the primary songwriter for Team StarKid's upcoming show, StarShip, to be performed in February 2011.

On November 9, 2010, Criss joined the cast of Glee on the episode Never Been Kissed as Blaine, a gay student at a rival school.[12] This is the second time Criss auditioned for the show, as he had originally auditioned to play Finn when the show was initially created. Glee creator Ryan Murphy stated, "Darren has a major, major arc...He sort of becomes Kurt's mentor and then maybe love--he had to leave his own school because of bullying and goes to an all-boys academy and finds acceptance because that school has a no-bullying, zero-tolerance policy. So Kurt really admires him and respects him. He plays someone who's one year older than Chris' character, so he's the old pro."[13] Unlike his character in Glee, Criss is straight.[14]

Criss has been confirmed as a regular for the remainder of season two and for season three of Glee.[15]

His work outside of Team StarKid and Glee include his stint as Josh in the television series Eastwick and a guest-starring role in Cold Case.[16]

He also released a self-produced EP Human on iTunes in the summer of 2010.[17]

Credits

Television

Year Show Role Notes
2009 Eastwick Josh Burton 5 episodes
2010 Cold Case Reuben Harris '69 Episode: "Free Love" (as Darren Everett Criss)
Glee Blaine Series Regular, starting mid-season 2 and during season 3

Films

Year Film Role Notes
2005 I Adora You Josh (short film)
2009 Walker Phillips Elliott (short film)
2010 The Chicago 8 Yippie Man Post-Production

Theater

Web series

  • Little White Lie (2007) as Toby Phillips

Discography

References

  1. ^ IMDB Resume
  2. ^ "Is Darren Criss Kurt's New BF on Glee?". Advocate.com. September 27, 2010.
  3. ^ http://twitter.com/#!/DarrenCriss/status/17482021261
  4. ^ http://darrencriss.snappages.com/Bio.htm
  5. ^ U of M show program
  6. ^ McKee, Jenn (October 25, 2010). "Darren Criss, U-M grad and 'Very Potter Musical' star, will be a new face on "Glee"". AnnArbor.com.
  7. ^ Official Team StarKid Channel YouTube user channel.
  8. ^ a b Guerra, Jennifer (July 15, 2009). "A Very Potter Musical!". Michigan Radio. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c d e Milam, Whitney (July 24, 2010). Team StarKid tops Glee and Gaga on iTunes, talks new projects. HollywoodNews. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ a b Team StarKid's Home Page for "A Very Potter Musical"
  11. ^ a b Team StarKid's Home Page for "A Very Potter Sequel"
  12. ^ Derschowitz, Jessica (September 27, 2010). "Darren Criss Joins "Glee" Cast". CBSnews.com. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  13. ^ Bentley, Jean (September 30, 2010). "News Roundup: Ryan Murphy Confirms Chord Overstreet Will Not Play Kurt's Boyfriend..." AOL TV News. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  14. ^ Michelle Skowronek (November 11, 2010). "Six Things You Didn't Know About 'The New Guy' On 'Glee,' Darren Criss". Hollywood Life. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  15. ^ Ann Donahue. "Glee Signs Darren Criss As Series Regular". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  16. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2023050/
  17. ^ a b Human by Darren Criss
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