American Crime Story: Darren Criss was the perfect choice for Cunanan
The casting of Darren Criss in American Crime Story proves not only the actor’s range but the gift Ryan Murphy has for spectacular casting.
Ryan Murphy is continuing his TV domination. Most recently, he’s brought to life American Crime Story Season 2. After the beloved and hotly-debated The People Vs OJ Simpson, he’s taking on the assassination of Gianni Versace. In the show’s season premiere, one thing stood out and that was the performance of Darren Criss.
Murphy has become well-known for casting the right actor for the role. The same trend has followed into The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Well, the castings of Donatella and Gianni Versace were great, casting Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan was genius.
Mostly known for his role on Glee, Criss is Blaine to a lot of people. Here, we truly get to see his range as an actor. What stood out the most was how creepy Criss was throughout the entire episode. The way he carried himself, the way he talked and acted made me incredibly uncomfortable and unsure of him.
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Throughout the entire episode, he was completely unreliable. You never know what he might do or say next. One line between him and a hook-up (would you call him that?) where the guy said, “You tell straight people you’re straight and you tell gay people you’re gay”. Without missing a beat, Criss said: “I tell people what they want to hear.”
That line was incredibly strange. It helped us get an idea of what Cunanan was capable of to get what he wants. Then in turn, what he was capable of when he didn’t get what he wanted. The other moment that played into this was when he bought all the newspapers about the assassination as if he wanted to commemorate it.
What made my jaw drop most of all was the emotion Criss put behind his performance. The moments after the assassination, he was filled with rage, happiness, sadness and an entire mix of emotions. Criss played them to a tee. Even when he was faking emotions, he played that to perfection.
Criss never makes you feel bad for Cunanan, though. He is a killer and he doesn’t shy away from that aspect. I never felt sorry for him but saw him for who he was. That’s probably what the show intended, though. Seeing it more throughout this season is going to be a treat.
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In the preview for later episodes, it looks like Criss takes it to a completely different level. He did such a stellar job in the first episode so it’s hard to tell. Either way, Criss’ performance and the casting of Darren Criss is already making a great season.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on FX.