Darren Criss, 'Glee's' newest cast member, is half-Filipino
SOURCE: ANN
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - And now, at year's end, it would be wise to reflect on the number of young Filipino talents making waves in the international music scene. Charice, Bruno Mars... now there's Darren Criss.
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SOURCE: ANN
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - And now, at year's end, it would be wise to reflect on the number of young Filipino talents making waves in the international music scene. Charice, Bruno Mars... now there's Darren Criss.
Yes, Gleeks, the curly-haired, green-eyed heartthrob - who started out as a guest character, a gay teen named Blaine, and is now the show's newest regular star - is of Filipino stock, and very proud of it.
Gregarious
In town for a set of Christmas shows for Ayala Malls in Manila, the gregarious Darren sat down with the press only hours after he landed in the morning, and only a few minutes before he and his team started rehearsals for his show later that afternoon. Darren, however, is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as only a hot new Hollywood prospect can be, and was in the mood to talk about his previous adventures in Makati, a posh enclave in the Philippines' capital.
"The last time I was here was for my cousin's wedding, about two years ago, and it's so good to be back," Darren told this writer in a one-on-one.
"My mom is Cebuano (from Cebu in central Philippines), born and raised in the Philippines, and she went to the (United) States when she was an adult. She's the youngest of seven, so I have a lot of family in Makati, a lot of them have moved on to other countries but many of them are still here. My dad's side is rather tiny, so I feel like a great part of my family is Filipino. I love the Filipino community so much."
The fact that the Filipino community is, in his words, "notoriously embracive", is one of the reasons he had jumped on the chance to perform here so close to Christmas, and while nursing a cold.
"I wasn't born here, so I won't make any claims of being fully Pinoy (slang for Filipino), but I don't know," he said.
"Every time I come here I feel this sort of kinship with the country. Probably because Filipinos are so notoriously embracive of anyone, specially in the entertainment industry. I couldn't be happier to be here."
Even before landing "Glee", Darren has had a sizeable, if underground, fan following, which came about when he and his college friends from the University of Michigan theater department decided to post a Harry Potter parody musical they produced on YouTube.
With songs written, produced and performed by Darren, the project, "A Very Potter Musical", got millions of hits, and gave birth to two other musicals, also posted on YouTube. When they formed a company to release the soundtrack albums, one became the very first college musical to land the Billboard and iTunes charts.
DIY advocate
Which makes Darren an advocate of doing things yourself. That being said, he pointed out, "There are no rules to this game. People are always saying, 'Yeah, very smart to go on YouTube first,' and you know, none of it is connected. I've just been very very fortunate and I can't stress that enough. The strength that our musicals have had -the ones I help make with my company, Star Kid Productions - was completely organic. We had no idea people would like it as much. And 'Glee' happened because I auditioned for it. I don't think anyone in 'Glee' knew about that other world that I had.
"My recommendation is that in this day and age there's a big do-it-yourself mentality. We made that thing ourselves, produced it ourselves. If you want to do something, it's very easy with the tools available now. Create, create, create."
Even after becoming hot Hollywood property, Darren is devoted to his other creative pursuits, and with the same collaborators.
"My friends from Michigan (have all been) very supportive, and I'm still working with them. In fact, our fourth musical comes out in February. It's called 'Starship,' and we're rehearsing now," he said, and added deprecatingly, "At the end of the day, I'm just some random guy, not really any different, the same old weird dorkish guy."
Independent
Wait, that's not all!
"Then, pending my schedule, I'll be working on a full-length studio album," said Darren, who released an EP of five songs as an independent before TV beckoned.
"That was always gonna happen, then I got cast in 'Glee', which kinda stalled it for a bit. Depending on what time I have, I'll be going back and forth between 'Glee', my company and my musical and the album, and between those three, I'm keeping myself pretty busy. It also depends if I get a film this summer. I'm always auditioning."
With such a wealth of talent, it seems Darren's path is full of possibilities, but will he ever choose between acting and music?
"I'm devoted to both. But... who ever thought I would be doing both on one television show?" he asks.
"I wanna have my cake and eat it, too. They complement one another, and I'm gonna keep going until one or the other makes me decide."
Loves Blaine
He loves the role of Blaine, and doesn't fear typecasting one bit, despite playing a gay role. (Darren is straight.)
"I am no more a gay teenager in a blazer who's 16 years old than Max Adler, who plays Karofsky, is a homophobic bully, or Heather Morris is a dumb blonde. We're all playing parts and serving the story," he pointed out.
"I've been handed the tremendous opportunity to play an incredibly strong character. I can't stress enough how important Blaine is to me. I mean, I play him, but taking that away from the equation, I think he plays such an important role in what's going on in our world, what's going on with young people. The things he has to say can transcend the gay topic, and into all sorts of exclusion and alienation and inclusiveness and acceptance."
Gregarious
In town for a set of Christmas shows for Ayala Malls in Manila, the gregarious Darren sat down with the press only hours after he landed in the morning, and only a few minutes before he and his team started rehearsals for his show later that afternoon. Darren, however, is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as only a hot new Hollywood prospect can be, and was in the mood to talk about his previous adventures in Makati, a posh enclave in the Philippines' capital.
"The last time I was here was for my cousin's wedding, about two years ago, and it's so good to be back," Darren told this writer in a one-on-one.
"My mom is Cebuano (from Cebu in central Philippines), born and raised in the Philippines, and she went to the (United) States when she was an adult. She's the youngest of seven, so I have a lot of family in Makati, a lot of them have moved on to other countries but many of them are still here. My dad's side is rather tiny, so I feel like a great part of my family is Filipino. I love the Filipino community so much."
The fact that the Filipino community is, in his words, "notoriously embracive", is one of the reasons he had jumped on the chance to perform here so close to Christmas, and while nursing a cold.
"I wasn't born here, so I won't make any claims of being fully Pinoy (slang for Filipino), but I don't know," he said.
"Every time I come here I feel this sort of kinship with the country. Probably because Filipinos are so notoriously embracive of anyone, specially in the entertainment industry. I couldn't be happier to be here."
Even before landing "Glee", Darren has had a sizeable, if underground, fan following, which came about when he and his college friends from the University of Michigan theater department decided to post a Harry Potter parody musical they produced on YouTube.
With songs written, produced and performed by Darren, the project, "A Very Potter Musical", got millions of hits, and gave birth to two other musicals, also posted on YouTube. When they formed a company to release the soundtrack albums, one became the very first college musical to land the Billboard and iTunes charts.
DIY advocate
Which makes Darren an advocate of doing things yourself. That being said, he pointed out, "There are no rules to this game. People are always saying, 'Yeah, very smart to go on YouTube first,' and you know, none of it is connected. I've just been very very fortunate and I can't stress that enough. The strength that our musicals have had -the ones I help make with my company, Star Kid Productions - was completely organic. We had no idea people would like it as much. And 'Glee' happened because I auditioned for it. I don't think anyone in 'Glee' knew about that other world that I had.
"My recommendation is that in this day and age there's a big do-it-yourself mentality. We made that thing ourselves, produced it ourselves. If you want to do something, it's very easy with the tools available now. Create, create, create."
Even after becoming hot Hollywood property, Darren is devoted to his other creative pursuits, and with the same collaborators.
"My friends from Michigan (have all been) very supportive, and I'm still working with them. In fact, our fourth musical comes out in February. It's called 'Starship,' and we're rehearsing now," he said, and added deprecatingly, "At the end of the day, I'm just some random guy, not really any different, the same old weird dorkish guy."
Independent
Wait, that's not all!
"Then, pending my schedule, I'll be working on a full-length studio album," said Darren, who released an EP of five songs as an independent before TV beckoned.
"That was always gonna happen, then I got cast in 'Glee', which kinda stalled it for a bit. Depending on what time I have, I'll be going back and forth between 'Glee', my company and my musical and the album, and between those three, I'm keeping myself pretty busy. It also depends if I get a film this summer. I'm always auditioning."
With such a wealth of talent, it seems Darren's path is full of possibilities, but will he ever choose between acting and music?
"I'm devoted to both. But... who ever thought I would be doing both on one television show?" he asks.
"I wanna have my cake and eat it, too. They complement one another, and I'm gonna keep going until one or the other makes me decide."
Loves Blaine
He loves the role of Blaine, and doesn't fear typecasting one bit, despite playing a gay role. (Darren is straight.)
"I am no more a gay teenager in a blazer who's 16 years old than Max Adler, who plays Karofsky, is a homophobic bully, or Heather Morris is a dumb blonde. We're all playing parts and serving the story," he pointed out.
"I've been handed the tremendous opportunity to play an incredibly strong character. I can't stress enough how important Blaine is to me. I mean, I play him, but taking that away from the equation, I think he plays such an important role in what's going on in our world, what's going on with young people. The things he has to say can transcend the gay topic, and into all sorts of exclusion and alienation and inclusiveness and acceptance."
