Darren Criss
"I'm Harry Freakin' Potter, and I'm the man!"
Started out in the surprise YouTube hit and Affectionate Parody A Very Potter Musical, as the titular character. He banded together with a few fellow University of Michigan students and formed Team Starkid, a theater production company that is now Chicago-based. Among the StarKid projects that he's been in are AVPM, A Very Potter Sequel, and Little White Lie.
Even though he's been quoted as wanting to be an actor who sings and not the other way around, he's inseparable from music. He wrote part of the music for AVPM and Me and My Dick, and all the music for A Very Potter Sequel, as well as for the new musical Starship. In the meanwhile, he put out his own 5-song EP, “Human”. He loves singing live; give this guy a mike, a guitar, and a stage, and he's a happy man.
After graduation from U of M, he had a role in the short-lived series Eastwick, and made an appearance in one of the final episodes of Cold Case ("Free Love").
Fangirl screams reached glass-shattering levels when it was discovered that Ryan Murphy had cast him to play Kurt Hummel's love interest on Glee. He plays the character of Blaine Anderson, a openly gay student at the all-boys' school Dalton. Blaine hands out encouragement to Kurt, along with a giant side of Unresolved Sexual Tension and a massive helping of Ho Yay.
Darren's start on Glee made a huge splash, as his version of “Teenage Dream” featuring the Dalton Warblers (aka the Tufts University Beelzebubs) became the highest-selling Glee song overnight, easily beating out “Don't Stop Believin'”.
Darren made his Broadway debut in the revival of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying in January 2012. He replaces the original Harry Freakin' Potter, Daniel Radcliffe. Whether Casting Gag or just unintentional, it's still awesome.
He's 100% Mr. Fanservice.
Known as an incredibly goofy, extremely nice guy.
- Adorkable: Just watch any of the videos on his Youtube. He geeks out about the songs he covers in each of them.
- Watch any of his interviews; ten to one, he's dorking out or fanboying something.
- Album Title Drop: "And that just makes me a dumb human, like you."
- Affectionate Parody: A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel are among the most affectionate.
- Attention Deficit Creator Disorder: Averted, hard. The guy has Glee, writing songs for Team Starkid, performing live shows for either Glee, Starkid or himself, tons of photoshoots, and a Twitter feed to maintain, as well as side projects like voicing "Life of Leopold" for Funny or Die.
- Award Bait Song: "Not Alone"
- Band of Relatives: Darren used to play for his Brother Chuck's band "Freelance Whales".
- But Not Too Foreign: He's also half-Filipino, partly with Spanish and Chinese heritage from his mother's side.
- The Cameo: In Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night".
- "BEST PARTY EVER! WOOOOO!"
- Camp Straight: He doesn't act camp, but he is the first one to tell you he is obsessed with musical theater, and grew up in gay-friendly San Francisco. When asked about playing a gay character on Glee, he often mentions that he had to "come out as straight" to his theater friends.
- Taken Up to Eleven with his attire from the Coachella music festival, where he walked around shirtless covered in multicolored body paint and wearing clip-on earrings and rainbow nail polish.
- Cloudcuckoolander: A little bit, in a very endearing way.
- Companion Cube: Darren is never without his trademark pink sunglasses. He even got them into a scene on Glee.
- The Cover Changes the Gender: Averts it in virtually every song he does, whether it's Disney, Glee or his own work. He notably keeps the female POV in "Teenage Dream" and "Bills, Bills, Bills" on Glee, and has sung "The Coolest Girl" at concerts without modifying the lyrics.
- Cover Version
- Has an old YouTube account under the name of Iclemyer, where he does covers of Disney songs. Included are "Belle", "I'll Make A Man Out Of You", and "Part of Your World".
- Lampshaded in AVPS. "I make weird covers of Disney songs. Who does that?"
- His cover of "Teenage Dream" is widely considered to be far better than the original.
- Has an old YouTube account under the name of Iclemyer, where he does covers of Disney songs. Included are "Belle", "I'll Make A Man Out Of You", and "Part of Your World".
- Deadpan Snarker
- He and Chris Colfer were snarking jointly on Twitter after "Original Song" aired, in which their characters kissed. Oh, boys.
- He does this all the time, really.
Reporter: "How has your life changed since Glee?"
Darren: "How hasn't it changed?! ...I bought a new sweater."
- Duet Bonding: "Baby, It's Cold Outside".
- Mr. Fanservice: His photoshoot for Out Magazine caused one hell of a mess on the Internet.
- Not to mention fans' reactions to his GQ Magazine photoshoot.
- Glee: Auditioned for the part of Finn when the show was originally being cast. Is there actually anyone out there who isn't glad he got Blaine instead?
- Hazel Eyes: Can sometimes be Eyes of Gold, depending on the picture.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Chris Colfer. Well, except that Darren is the only straight one.
- With Joey Richter, Joe Walker, and Brian Holden of Starkid, too. Especially when he took Joe as his date to the Deathly Hallows premiere in London. And even more so with Joey, whom he actually lives with.
- "I Am" Song: "The Coolest Girl". Written (as quoted by Word of God) by Darren to be another "Part Of Your World" or "On My Own", sung by Bonnie Gruesen (Hermione) in AVPS.
- Important Haircut: He got one right before he started playing Blaine on Glee, making his hair look less wild.
- Decidedly unpopular with his Estrogen Brigade, though.
- Also unpopular? Whoever it is in hair and makeup that keeps attempting to MURDER HIS HAIR WITH GEL each episode.
- Incredibly Long Note: "To Have A Home", AVPS.
- Intercourse with You: "When I Get You Alone", from Glee. Kurt is not amused, as it's not sung to him.
- "I Want" Song: Most of his songs, of the romantic variety.
- Keet: Small, cute, colorful, and hyperactive? Check, check, check and check. Fanon has given him the nickname "Hobbit."
- Looped Lyrics: "Don't you want the way I feel/Don't you want the way I feel/Don't you want the way I feel for you".
- Love Nostalgia Song: "Sami", "Don't You".
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Jealousy," a sunny and energetic song about Envy so consuming that he can't stand looking in the mirror, and he tries unsuccessfully to drown it out with alcohol.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: Harry Potter is, by his own admission, a total douchebag.
- Nakama: Team Starkid. The outpouring of Twitter support for Darren landing Glee was heartwarming. Also, every time he performs solo and one of the Starkids is there, they end up being dragged onstage to sing their signature songs (i.e. Joey Richter dueting with Darren on "Granger Danger", Joe Walker on "Stutter").
- Darren even threw the Starkids a wrap party for Starship at a Vegas nightclub.
- Nerds Are Sexy: Likes Disney, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, showtunes, and pink sunglasses. Has hazel eyes to top off his pale skin/black hair, and an Adonis-like build.
- Obsession Song: "The Muse", "Jealousy"
- One of Us: Admitted fanboy of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lord of the Rings, Flight of the Conchords, musical theatre, comic books, Disney movies, and of course, Harry Potter. The vids of the Starkids nerding out at Infinitus and Wizarding World of Harry Potter are some of the cutest things ever. He even cosplayed to the Deathly Hallows premiere (well, he cosplayed to others too, but this one was after he got famous). Oh, and he's voted for "KurtCoBlaine" as the official Portmanteau Couple Name for Kurt/Blaine.
- Into Musical Theatre: He plays something like six instruments, sings, acts, and writes his own material. And he's talented at all of it. Subverted in that he's straight.
- Promoted Fanboy: A Very Potter Musical became so popular that he was invited to the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 movie premiere... which he attended in full Harry costume, and then spazzed out about being there.
- Rewritten Pop Version: "Not Alone", "Sami" ("Harry"), "Even Though" and "Stutter" all have solo versions.
- Self-Backing Vocalist
- Signature Song: "Not Alone" and "Teenage Dream" are becoming this.
- What Beautiful Eyes!
- Wild Hair: The curls just CANNOT BE CONTAINED. He sheared down to a more debonair look for "Glee," but they're making something of a comeback anyway as of "Blame It On the Alcohol." Some witty person even listened his trademark as "his outrageously curly hair" on his IMDb profile.