2024-02-09

Darren Criss
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
  • Faith: Christian - Catholic
  • Career: Actor
  • Birthday:  February 05, 1987

Darren Criss is a singer, actor, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the TV show “Glee” and received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for his leading role as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.” He’s also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several musical albums.

As 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 and writing most of the lyrics and music for StarKids’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 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, 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.

Criss was born in San Francisco, California, the youngest child of Cerina and Charles William Criss. He has an older brother, Chuck, who was a member of the band Freelance Whales. Criss was raised primarily in San Francisco, but from 1988 to 1992, the family lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, where his father started EastWest Bank, serving as chairman and CEO. Criss attended Roman Catholic schools and completed his elementary education at Stuart Hall for Boys. He later graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory in 2005. In 2009, he obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, majoring in Theater Performance and minoring in Musicology and Italian.

What religion is Darren Criss?

Darren Criss went to Catholic schools growing up, but now he has a general kind of spirituality that involves belief in a higher power. Criss’ interest in music started in early childhood. At five years old, he started taking violin lessons and was classically trained for the next 15 years. He taught himself how to play other instruments, including piano, guitar, harmonica, mandolin, and drums. In high school, he immersed himself in music, holding the position of concertmaster in the school orchestra and was voted “Most Likely to Win a Grammy” by his peers.


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