This year is a wonderful time for representation in Hollywood. At the recently concluded Golden Globes, many people of color were nominated for and won top awards (hello, Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, and Sandra Oh). For Filipinos, the most special was Darren Criss, who won the Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
In his acceptance speech, he acknowledges his Filipino roots and even gave out a shoutout to his Cebuana mother. He said, “As we’ve seen it’s 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 to this country and getting to be invited to cool parties like this. Mom, I know you’re watching this, you are hugely responsible for most of the good things in my life. I love you dearly and I dedicate this to you.”
Watch his speech below:
Criss is also the first Filipino-American to win a Golden Globe.
Backstage, he continued gushing about his home country. He said, “I’ve said this before, but being half Filipino is one of my favorite things about me. I feel like I have been given a superhero cape and I am glad to step up to that plate. It’s a great privilege — and I am proud to be part of that.”
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is a miniseries that followed the murder of Gianni Versace by Andrew Cunanan, also a Filipino-American. Criss plays the role of Cunanan.
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