What Has Darren Criss Been Up To Since 'Glee'?
Darren Criss, 34, is one of the most successful stars from the main cast of Glee. In 2019, the Filipino-American actor won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie. It was for his haunting portrayal of serial killer, Andrew Cunanan in another series directed by Ryan Murphy, 55, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
Criss might be the only Glee alum to succeed in avoiding being typecast as his character, Dalton Academy Warblers' openly gay lead vocalist, Blaine Anderson. For a while, Criss was stuck in playing gay roles despite being a straight man. But in 2018, after playing the closeted Cunanan, he vowed "to make sure I won't be another straight boy taking a gay man's role." Here's how it's been going for him these days.
Still Thriving In His TV Career
After Glee ended in 2015, Criss continued to explore his acting range in the Ryan Murphy-verse. Aside from his role in season 2 of American Crime Story which also earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, the actor had a recurring role in American Horror Story: Hotel. Committed to his promise of not playing any more LGBTQ+ characters, Criss played director Raymond Ainsley in Murphy's 2020 Netflix hit series, Hollywood.
In 2020, the actor co-wrote and produced a Quibi musical series called Royalties. He also starred in the 10-episode show. Speaking to TV Line, the Hollywood star said that he loved making such a "challenging" project. "I really enjoyed this process," he shared. "It wasn’t how we set out to do it, but it was a great challenge." The cast also had Glee actors, Chord Overstreet, 32, and Kevin McHale, 33, as well as former guest stars, John Stamos, 58, and Jennifer Coolidge, 60.
"You know what’s funny? I forgot that John Stamos and Jennifer Coolidge were on Glee," Criss said of the unintentional Glee reunion. "I became friends with them separately. Yes, they were on the show, but these are also people that were at my wedding. I forget we have a Glee connection. I wish I was that clever in the outset, like, how many people from Glee can I get together?" So far, the Quibi series hasn't been renewed for season 2.
Focusing On His Music Career
In 2015, Criss received his first Emmy nomination for best original music and lyrics for his song, This Time which was featured in Glee's finale. Before exploring his acting chops after the show ended, he released his EP Homework in 2017. It debuted at number 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Album chart. In April 2021, he announced that he was back with a new single called F*KN AROUND. It was the first of his upcoming "character-driven singles."
"F*KN AROUND is a track I started a while back as a pretty simple loop," Criss wrote on the caption of the track's YouTube lyric video. "I built it all around a very simple bass groove that I envisioned as something a brand new bass player could learn as their first song. I added some live drums, piano, and two different lead guitar counterparts, with a vague idea of what the melody and lyric would be."
He also revealed that "it sat dormant for years because nobody seemed all that interested in it" but that he "always felt like it had a lot of potential if completed properly," which he did. "The final song ultimately became something of a head-noddin’ middle finger anthem," he said of the song's message. "To those triflin’ people in your life that, despite yourself, you keep finding yourself putting up with... All driven by the attitude of that same simple, driving, dirty bass groove."
Happily Married Since 2019
Aside from a successful acting and music career, the Royalties star also lucked out in love. In 2019, he had a "rockstar" wedding with his longtime partner, Fox director/producer Mia Swier, 36. They got engaged in 2018 after dating for seven-and-a-half years. Swier is a multi-hyphenate herself — she's also a bassist and vocalist. While most couples do a traditional first dance during weddings, the two "had a first song together as husband and wife" instead. "As we reached the stage, I quickly put on a guitar and Mia put on a bass," Criss told Vogue.
"And we exploded into The Ballroom Blitz by Sweet to get the party started," he continued. "We had a first song together as husband and wife—it was the coolest. The whole goal of our wedding was to take traditions and turn them on their heads with our own flair . . . and me playing a brand new Thinline Telecaster in my white tux with Mia rockin’ out on a matching white Duff McKagan P Bass in a wedding dress and combat boots—that whole moment was probably the pinnacle of that goal." He's clearly winning in life these days, obviously exempted from the Glee curse.
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