“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” wins 3 Emmys including one for Darren Criss
Darren Criss is an Emmy winner!
The Glee alum took home the award for outstanding lead actor in a TV miniseries or movie for his portrayal of gay serial killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story which won the Outstanding Limited Series honor.
“Oh, my God, you guys are witnessing the most extraordinary moment of my life thus far. I’m very privileged to be in this room among so many people who inspire the crap out of me, and I’m so honored to be nominated,” Criss said in his acceptance speech. “A lot of you guys, I’ve been a fan of for such a long time. Actors are really only as good as the moments they are given and the moments they are granted. So I am profoundly indebted to my friend Ryan Murphy for entrusting me with this opportunity of a lifetime and for believing in me.”
Criss also thanked his mom and dad, adding: “Unlike the character I played, I was lucky enough to be raised in a home that was very loving and emphasized the value of hard work, compassion and not taking yourself too seriously.”
Murphy won an Emmy of his for directing an episode of the show.
While accepting the Limited Series award he said: “The show is about a lot of things, it’s about homophobia internalized and externalized, it’s about a country that allows hatred to grow unfettered and unchecked.”
Murphy added that he wanted to dedicate the award to victims of hate crimes within the LGBTQ community and to “awareness and to stricter hate crime laws.”
Speaking backstage, Murphy expanded on his acceptance speech. “I’m always happy to make a political statement in everything that I do,” he said. “The statistic that I said [that one out of four LGBTQ people will be the victim of a hate crime] … is true and heinous and as a gay man who was told when I started off in the business that I could not even write in 1998 a gay character, the idea that now, 20 years later, I get to tell the story and proselytize for my community is important to me.”
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Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
Richard V says:
Congratulations everyone on this series. Darren Criss, I’ve loved your acting and singing since Glee, you damn well deserve this.
Tim says:
He was very creepy, just like Cunanan would have been. He deserved the award.