INTERVIEW: Darren Criss for INDIE Magazine:
Exclusively for INDIE magazine Criss sat down with us and we found out more, bringing the lyrics of his song ‘Human’ to the forefront: “Why do I have this incredible need to stand up and say - ‘Please pay attention?’”
Fans of the show, known as “Gleeks”, are rabid and dedicated, fascinatingly so. One search for Darren Criss on Tumblr or Instagram leads to an endless vacuum of hilarious fan-created pages (favorite URL’s include adorkabledarrencriss.tumblr.com, darrenistotallyawesome.tumblr.com and evrydayiscrissmaswithdarren.tumblr.com). Social media has been a crux to his astronomical rise, with Youtube first sending ‘A Very Potter Musical’ into viral heaven, and the ‘Glee’ audition videos he posted on MySpace reeling in the show’s creators. But Criss is the first to admit he has a polarized relationship with social media and privacy, and the demands of today’s content-hungry world. How does it feel to be in the middle of such intense pop culture worship, with over 1.5 million people decoding your every Tweet?
But even before pop gossip sites obsessed over Criss’ sexuality and whereabouts, he’d already fallen into internet stardom without warning. His entrance into ’net limelight kicked off with the viral success of his Team StarKid’s (the theater production group he formed at Michigan University) ‘A Very Potter Musical,’ in which Criss starred in the summer of 2009.
Writing half of the songs in the musical (which now has over 10 million views), Criss then wrote the entire soundtrack to its follow-up ‘A Very Potter Sequel’ in 2010. His first self-produced EP, ‘Human,’ also came out that year, just a handful of months before snagging his fated spot on ‘Glee.’
Not a bad ride, considering this was all done around his schedule for TV show ‘Glee’. The award-winning weekly series is a straight up phenomenon and cultural feat, with Criss’ homosexual character, Blaine Anderson, having a notably heavy hand in reforming pop culture. Opening eyes and doors for the LGBT community over the last three years, Ellen DeGeneres applauded Criss for playing “a very confident gay teen, which you don’t see on television a lot.”
Initially cast as a recurring character, the San Fran native quickly became an integral part of the musical series. Criss’ first performance on the show (a cover of Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream’) hit certified gold in the states and climbed to #1 on iTunes. Something of an overnight sensation, Criss soon traversed the covers of Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair and the gay bible Out (for the record, Criss is straight).
Like, oh my god, happy Superbowling guys!” Darren Criss says in a mock Valley Girl accent, mimicking the body language of a teenage girl. Throughout our INDIE photoshoot, it becomes clear that the ‘Glee’ star’s mind never stops whirring, with well-timed, sarcastic jokes spurting from all angles.
At one point, he even recites a Shakespeare sonnet in iambic pentameter from memory on cue. Armed with fiercely quick wit and insight, Criss undoubtedly carries a room. But he
gives the time of day to each person within it. It’s a rare spark that’s led the 28-year-old to many interesting avenues - from taking over Daniel Radcliffe’s role in Broadway play ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’, to playing opposite Kirstin Wiig in blockbuster hit ‘Girl Most Likely’, to performing for Obama at the inaugural ball last January.
It’s Superbowl Sunday and we’re tucked away in the Hollywood Hills, a sense of peace and solitude surrounding us. Inside the walls of our villa, however, laughter roars.
——-
INTERVIEW:
I read somewhere that you’re versed in a few different languages.
"I know the basics for quite a few but I’m certainly not fluent. I love languages. I think it stems from my love of music and music theory, and the way sound works. I’ve always had a yen for tonality because I mimic. I like copying things. As an actor, you can’t actually be the person you’re portraying, so the end result is what you do through mimicry. It’s the law of the Romans. You know, the Romans basically just took everyone else’s ideas and made them their own. And then it became distinctly Roman."
When did your love of music first start?
"I started on the violin at the age of 5, which is kind of interesting, because I don’t know what prompted it. There was no “A-ha” moment of seeing a violinist and wanting to play the violin, I just remember telling my mom I wanted to play. And I ended up playing for about 15 years. I think the violin is the root of almost everything I do, because there is an attention to detail and a precision, and it’s such a small margin of error. It’s an unbelievable training ground for so many disciplines. Again, it’s given me a particular penchant for harmonics and pitch and execution - and the dynamics of that sound - which goes back to my love of languages and my love of acting. In any scene work, talking is a musical function. A lot of actors, especially comedians, tend to be pretty well versed musicians. They understand cadence and phrasing. I think Bill Clinton would be a great example; he’s not a world-renowned sax player but he’s got a great sense jazz and timing. The bravado when he speaks comes from this sense of knowing how to land things. That’s a really grand example to link my love of music bleeding itself into acting. People always ask - which one would you want to be? It’s both. They’re one in the same."
You fell into a pretty good career path, with that in mind.
"Absolutely. We’re [at ‘Glee’] all mercenaries in the fact that we get to do both jobs, it’s a pretty cool thing."
I think ‘Glee’ is interesting in the sense that it’s helped the younger generation embrace theatre. In my high school, theater was a very “uncool” thing.
"I was pretty lucky. I grew up in a very cool high school. (…) I’m a pretty painfully positive guy, much to my own demise. But in high school, I had difficulty having any sort of resonance with the typical high school presentation in television and film and popular media. You know, the age-old stereotypes of the jocks versus the nerds and the theater geeks. I never really saw that categorical society hierarchy. Maybe it did exist in people’s minds - I think people actually see those movies and they project that into their lives.
For me personally, I did a little bit of everything - theater, sports, student government. I really felt I was friends with everybody. That’s not to say I was a popular kid, but I enjoyed everybody. Again that’s maybe my own fault of truly finding everybody and everything interesting.”
Not a bad problem to have.
"Well it can be, when you think someone’s really great and you find out they’re really crazy! (laughs) I’m a very open person but nowadays I’m more selectively open. And that has a lot to do with - not necessarily working at a job that gives me public persona, but actually just getting older. You become more selective regardless of if you work in public domain or not. We all are our own mini public figures. This is such a cliche, but because of the way social media works, we all live public lives nowadays. We all have more friends, real or not, than any generation before."
The age-old social media discussion.
"My little rule is if you get into a decent conversation with any human being, give it 3-5 minutes and something about social media will come up. Whether it’s a parent talking about their kids being Twitter and the problems that presents. Or if you’re talking about relationships, it might be the difficulties of miscommunication that social media has presented, or maybe how a couple met on social media. It has pervaded every corner of everyday life."
Do you think that’s a positive thing?
"It’s funny, because even though it’s so new, there are still so many terms and sociological titles, from the more colloquial ones to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Just like anything - whether science, technology, literature art - with every amazing step forward in our culture, you take an equal step back. With that said, I will defend social media! It’s easy for us to be really mad about it because yes, there are a lot of really negative things about it. Of course there is a visual, that we all know, of people on their phones with this blocking-you-out connotation. The ultimate irony is that we, especially the younger generation, are connecting more than ever, just on a personal level. And - again, this might be me being a bleeding idealist but - it comes from this very human need to connect. We’re in our own worlds working twice as hard to be in everyone else’s. It’s such a crazy paradox.
My disclaimer is that the fact that I’m like everybody else, I’m equally frustrated and fascinated by all the terrible things it’s done for us. (laughs) But I’m the devil’s advocate for looking at the positives.”
Are you happy to be part of this generation?
"Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight In Paris’ nailed one of my time honored beliefs. The generation after will always venerate the one before, and so on and so forth, which is why it’s important to dig where you’re at now. There are so many cool things about this generation. I do truly believe in the resilience of the human spirit. There is a resilience of the human intellect that will always prevail. Even if it changes, the paradigm will shift all the time, that’s how fucking evolution works! (laughs)
It’s how society works. People are still trying to be better human beings.”
Out of curiosity, what do you think about Tumblr?
"Tumblr’s an amazing thing. Tumblr has really helped guys like me out, because the fans and supporters help us keep track of what we’re doing. The funny thing about things like Tumblr is…well, I think a lot of these kids think that we don’t have the internet! It’s this weird disconnection where fans forget that we can see everything they post. I also think a lot of kids don’t realize that nothing on the internet is private!
My brother - I’m quoting you, Chuck (he’s always like, ‘You never quote me in interviews!’) - recently said: “I feel like Tumblr is like a high school locker except everyone can see it, and it will never go away.” With high school lockers, we’d put up all the little things that are personal to you. At the end of the year it’s cleared out. You can be a different person, and you’re not beholden to what you’ve done. These kids put stuff on the internet that will be there FOREVER, and it’s available to everyone.”
What do you think about things like meme’s and gif’s?
"They’re as culturally relevant as things like graffiti and street art and folk art that are regional to a certain culture. You realize they’re part of a bigger conversation. It can be hard to realize they have impact and influence. What’s also very interesting is if you see a meme that’s everywhere, I always wonder, “Who owns this? Where did this originate?” And there’s no way to know. It’s like folk art; in a lot of ancient traditions you cant really track this sort of stuff because it belongs to the people. There’s something really cool about that. Maybe it’s because I’m in the music publishing world and intellectual property’s a very sticky thing. I’m like, ‘Who’s getting the royalties on this?!”"
You said a word earlier that jumped out at me: private. How important is privacy to you?
"I’ve always been a private person. I’m totally extroverted, but I’m selectively outgoing. Sometimes people think I don’t want to Tweet something because it’s an actor thing, or a Glee thing, but even if Twitter existed when I was in college, I never really liked codifying thoughts into the ether. Maybe it’s because I’m an Aquarian; I’m not into making these statements and announcements. I never felt the need to wear things publicly. So social media can be tough for me. I respect the uniform, I respect its power and its usage and, of course I am so grateful. If people are interested and want to know what I’m up to, I should be so lucky! The least I can do is give them an answer. But sometime it’s just not my style, I’m a little too old fashioned for it. I like phone calls. I like talking to people, I like being able to hear the cadence of someone’s voice. There’s such lack of context to things on the internet.
I do owe it a lot of gratitude, because it got me where I am. I wouldn’t be talking to you if it wasn’t for the power of social media! But when you’re living such a public life, keeping some things to yourself is really important."
It’s also different, knowing that nearly 2 million followers will be reading your Tweet.
"Exactly! I’m a very fastidious, detailed person, which has been a problem in the sense that I’m about 4 years behind on an album that has needed to be out! (laughs) I can’t fart things out. When I have, they’ve come out shitty - no pun intended - but I just need things to be…perfect. I need to be proud of them. Even when it comes down to a stupid Tweet about a concert! It’s my obsession with perfection, because I’m aware that everything on the internet lasts forever. "
Looking forward, where do your aspirations lie?
"They’re all over the map. I truly believe that all of the things I do are connected, and this brings us back to the beginning of our conversation - with music bleeding into acting and acting bleeding into my love of communication and human beings, and creating a discussion. Instigating a new thought process. People are always fascinated with categories, like “Ooh, this actor became a director.” It’s not really that different. If that actor became a plumber, that’d be pretty cool! Within the artistic realm of expression, they’re all cousins of each other. For me, I love directing theatre and I love guiding actors. I think I’m going to try and direct something on my own, maybe a short film or something, one of these years coming up. Just for fun, to work those muscles again.
But again, I’m just a mercenary, it’s not up to me. It’s up to me to work as hard as I can and make as many opportunities for myself. I’ve subscribed myself to the idea that I’m not always going to be able to what I want to do. Expect nothing and hope for everything - that’s a day to day goal.”
You mentioned your [debut] album earlier. What are your plans for it?
"Whether it’s released or not, I want to be done with this album in some capacity by the end of the year. It’s tough because if you’re making an album or a film, typically you can devote a handful of months to it and disappear, and come back. You know, come down from the mountain waving the album, with the tablets, above your head! But I go off into the mountain on weekend jaunts, because I work 6 days out of the week, 15 hours a day, 10 and 1/2 months out of the year. I have to catch as catch can."
Isn’t that a difficult process?
"Definitely! It’s the most counterintuitive way to create anything artistically. You start something one day, and come back to it a month and a half later. By that time, your brain is out of it and it’s no longer relevant. "
What plans do you have for the
album?
"My brother said something so beautiful to me over Christmas. He’s a musician too, and we grew up on the same music, and we love the same music. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “Just promise me your record won’t smell like compromise.” And that hit me so hard. I was like, “Oh my god, I’ve been compromising everything!” (laughs) I would take a bullet for this man so hearing that really got me into high gear.
I have a real opportunity with this album: the goal for it is to make a statement. It would’ve been very easy for me two years ago to make a very simple pop record - not that there’s nothing wrong with that, there’s no high horse here. I could’ve gone in with some great writers, I wouldn’t have had to touch the writing or produce anything. I could’ve sang some huge songs, and had play on the radio, toured around…but that isn’t who I am. It’s not somebody who I want to be, it’s not somebody I could be for the rest of my life. Fortunately as an actor, people love it if they don’t really know your deal - you know, “he’s broody, he plays different parts!”But in music, it’s the exact opposite; in music, people turn the mirror around and go, “Who are you? What is your statement?” And it’s such an unfair question, because you’re like, “I don’t know!” I’m trying to figure it out, just like you.”
What music influenced you growing up?
"90s new rock alternative had a huge effect on how I approach music; I always say Nirvana taught me how to play jazz. If you’re familiar with how guitar works, there’s something called a power chord which is this kind of neutral chord, and I started playing those songs with full chord voicings. If you’re playing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ with actual majors or minors or 7ths, you actually add a full chord to what is just an octave and a fifth. You can start creating these really interesting tones, and if you play in a different rhythm, it becomes a weird jazz sound. I also played a lot of hard, thrashy punk music as a kid, I still love punk rock. We listened to everything. I remember back when we all had our fat CD binders, I’d have like NOFX and The Offspring and Flogging Molly, all these weird ska bands, but then I’d also have Dr Dre, 2 Pac and Biggie, next to the original cast recording of ‘Les Miserables.’ People are always like, “What’s your guilty pleasure?” I don’t believe in guilty pleasures - if it’s a pleasure, I don’t feel guilty about it. (laughs)
I know it gets passed off as a cliche, but my brother and I were heavily deeply into the Beatles. We bought every book, listened to every album. To this day, we still discuss the structure of every song, just like any music nerds do. When you’re creating any record, you always reference the Beatles at some point, and what blows my mind is that The Beatles didn’t have The Beatles to reference to! Or Beethoven wasn’t able to say, “I’m going to write something that sounds like Beethoven’s 5th.” But again, everything’s derivative, he was probably copping off his neighbor that nobody ever heard about - or the Beatles might have been riffing off the Delta Blues guys that only they had records of in Liverpool. For me, there are so many artists that I love that the vast majority of people in the world don’t know. And because I have this little soap box and this little spotlight on me - for whatever limited time that I do - I feel like it’s my duty to take their work and make it big. My goal is if I can steal enough of their work, I can pull a Roman empire! (laughs) And try and have something great taken from the wisdom of the elders.”
——-
Text & Interview: Danna Takako Hawley / Photography: Ben Sheffield / Styling: Sara Paulsen / Styling assistant: Alexandra Grandquist