Darren Criss made history by becoming the first Filipino-American Hollywood actor to win a Golden Globe Award for his role in the US television series “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace”.
Criss bagged the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie Award for playing the role of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in the said show.
The 31-year-old actor beat some of the biggest names in Hollywood for the award. Other nominees include Antonio Banderas (“Genius: Picasso”), Daniel Brühl (“The Alienist”), Benedict Cumberbatch (“Patrick Melrose”) and Hugh Grant (“A Very English Scandal”).
Durinng his acceptance speech, Criss dedicated his achievement to his Filipina mother.
“This has been a marvelous year for representation in Hollywood, and I am so enormously proud to be a teeny tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipino woman from Cebu that dreamed of coming into this country and getting to be invited to cool parties like this. Mom, I know you’re watching this,” he said.
“I love you dearly. I dedicate this to you. This is totally awesome,” he added.
Darren Criss dedicates his #GoldenGlobes award to his mother pic.twitter.com/5jU5MBcZj2
— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) January 7, 2019
Last year, Criss also made history by becoming the first ever Fil-Am actor to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the playing the same role.
Criss rose to fame after appearing on the US television musical series “Glee” as Blaine Anderson. Born to a Cebuana mother and a father of English, Irish, and German descent, he was primarily raised in California and, for some time, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, majoring in Theater Performance and minoring in Musicology and Italian.
Criss also received his first Emmy nod for composing the song “This Time” for “Glee’s” finale in 2015.
The Golden Globe is a prestigious award in Hollywood bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize excellence in film and television. This year’s Golden Globe Awards will be held on Sunday, January 6 (California time) at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Photo credits: Paul Drinkwater via Hollywood Reporter
