Darren Criss Crosses Into Stardom
By
December 6, 2010
San Francisco-born, LA-based Darren Criss’ path to joining the cast of Fox’s much-beloved Glee represents a particularly of-the-moment fairy tale: a Lana-Turner-in-the-malt-shop story for the digital age. It started when Criss posted A Very Potter Musical, a show he and friends at the University of Michigan theater department put together during their senior year, on the Internet. In spite of an image and sound quality that Criss calls “equivalent to that of your Uncle Jimmy filming your Christmas pageant,” he quickly became a YouTube sensation, garnering a substantial cult following and spurring him to start a production company, Starkids, with his musical co-conspirators. The group produced a sequel to the Harry Potter musical, as well as the inarguably highbrow Me and My Dick. A brief appearance on the short-lived series Eastwick later, Criss landed on Glee playing Blaine, a member of the Warblers, a rival glee club, and love interest to Kurt.
Appearing on Glee is a dream for Criss: “Even if Blaine was to get hit by a bus in two episodes, I’m really thankful for the time I’ve been given on the show.” We spoke with the multi-talented actor and musician while he had a rare break from filming Glee, writing songs, and dreaming up space adventure musicals.
