Questioning Darren Criss' identity. Asian? Filipino? White? Irish?

Darren Criss with his parents.

WHEN I FIRST READ the Vulture interview with Darren Criss,  I was deeply disappointed - heartbroken, really.

Chriss, who is currentlly starring in American Crime Story's "The Assassination of Giannini Versace," gave some controversial responses that drew the ire of some Asian Americans.

During the interview, writer E. Alex Jung asked the Filipino/American actor if being part Filipino was a factor in getting a part, Criss answered: "I always say one of my favorite things about myself is that I’m half-Filipino but I don’t look like it."

Ouch!

Taken by itself, that quote drew a lot of critical reaction and my first reaction was along the same line. "What? He's proud that he doesn't look Filipino?"

RELATED: Why isn't Darren Criss getting the love from the AAPI community?

"You other’d us while placing yourself in such close proximity with the whiteness you so proudly wear. Why would you do that?" said  Natalie Blardony, a Filipino/American writer in Medium.

Other quotes from the interview seemed to reinforce this point of view:

"I just look like a Caucasian guy, which is nice."

” I have the luxury of being half-white and looking more Caucasian,..."

And there is this reponse to the question, "Do you identify as Asian-American?"

"No. I think that’d be unfair. I think that’d sound like I’m reaching for the minority card on a college application. I think that would be unfair. Yeah, my mom’s Asian-American. She’s from the Philippines and came here and then married a white guy, and here I am. But maybe it’s because of the way I look. Maybe if I looked a little more pan-Asian and I was put in that box then I would be like, “Yeah, I identify as Asian-American,” but maybe because the obstacles that may come up haven’t that I don’t think about it. But that’s a really interesting question. I’ve never thought about that. For better or for worse, I guess not. But I guess I am. What do you think? Am I? On paper I guess I kind of am."

Criss felt his quote was punctuated incorrectly. He felt compelled to issue a clarification which turns the meaning of that statement 180 degrees.

And, as word of the criticism about his comments in Vulture became more widely known, Criss' fans flocked to his defense. But even his defenders said they had to lick their initial wounds.

 Perehaps the strongest defense came from Yong Chavez, entertainment reporter for The Filipino Channel. He has interviewed Criss several times and the actor always said how proud he was of his Filipino heritage.

In other parts of the Vulture interview, he repeats that he loves being part Filipino and he shows he is aware of the lack of Filipino representation in television and the movies. He explains to producer Ryan Murphy why Filipino/American actor Jon Jon Briones, who plays Cunanan's father, isn't better known in Hollywood circles.

"He’s a tried-and-true Broadway actor, man. Just because he’s not on billboards and glamour magazines doesn’t mean he’s not a working actor.” He’s like, “Well, I don’t get why I still haven’t heard of him.” I’m like, “He’s a Filipino man, dude.” There’s only so many opportunities that people can lock themselves into accepting when they’re casting shit, unless he’s playing the Thai terrorist on CSI or something. And what I hope happens is this will be a great stepping stone for him, for people to go, “Ah, he’s a good actor,” and then just cast where race isn’t a thing. 

Perhaps, Criss is one of those individuals who identifies more strongly as a Filipino/American than an Asian/American. He strikes me as a very bright person, albeit perhaps not so politically conscious. I've read other articles about him and watched him on talk shows and he's always said -- without prompting -- that he's half-Filipino. He has never described himself as half-Asian.

For someone who has been immersed in Asian Americana for so long, my initial reaction might have been overly sensitive since I expect all people with an Asian heritage to identify themselves similarly.

Although Criss can pass for white, calling that a "luxury," may be a poor word choice since, as he admits, no one has asked him about identifying as an "Asian/American" before the Vulture interview.

I invite Mr. Criss to become more aware of the culture wars going on nowadays and educate himself in the issues that affect his darker brothers and sisters. Awareness of the lack of acting roles for Filipinos is a start, but he needs to know that industry-wide struggle applies for all people of color. It is not a question of talent, but the lack of opportunities. 

Criss, who's performance in American Crime Story has been universally lauded and hopefully will result in some peer recognition come awards time, now finds himself in a unique position. With his newly found platform, Criss can help keep those doors open for entertainers who might be a few shades darker.

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Why isn't Darren Criss getting the love from the AAPI community?

Can you pick out Darren Criss in these photos of Andrew Cunanan?

TODAY is perhaps the biggest day in Darren Criss' life. Today, he can move up the Hollywood hierarchy to become a genuine star; or he can come crashing down as just another nameless actor amongst a vast sea of wannabes.

Early reviews of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace indicate Criss' star is more likely will follow the former path catapulting the Filipino/American actor into a realm rarely inhabited by an Asian/American. Yet, with the exception of Filipino/American media, AAPI media - newspapers, bloggers, vloggers - has been curiously subdued for what could be described as a breakthrough.

Filipinos very rarely make national news -- not because they didn't deserve it, but mainly because mainstream media ignores them even though they are the largest Asian ethnic group in California. 

So in 1997 when Andrew Cunanan became linked to the notorious homicide of the famous designer preceded with a string of murders across the country, my sense of hiya (shame) --  kicked in. I was worried and a little bit embarrassed because for many people, Cunanan would be their only exposure to a newsworthy Filipino.

Maybe that's also the reason the AAPI community has maintained an arms-length distance over Criss' opportunity. Of all the Asian Americans to garner prime-time, nine-episode, exposure - this story presents an Asian/American as a sociopath serial killer.

Unlike all the publicity and hoopla given to Kelly Marie Tran for her historic breakthrough role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, from the AAPI commentators online and in print, Criss hasn't benefited from a whole lot of support from the Asian American community (except for the Filipino/American community.) There has been no excitement wishing him the best, hardly any buzz and little talk about the opening up of acting opportunities for AAPI performers or the breaking of stereotypes.

Darren Criss, a Filipino/American, who portrays Cunanan, -- with the exception of the Filipino/American media -- should be the darling of the Twitter universe and entertainment and cultural bloggers and vloggers and hailed as a potential gamechanger because you can count on one hand, the AAPI actors who have been given this type of exposure.

There is one other factor that might explain the lack of excitement in the AAPI community about Criss's opportunity, is that he doesn't fit the popular of what an Asian looks like. He is not East Asian or South Asian. His mother is a native of Cebu, Philippines, while his father, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is of English, German, and Irish descent. As he said in an interview on a late show, "I look Italian."

Actor Henry Golden, half-Malaysian and half-Brit, faced the same kind of criticism when he was cast in Crazy Rich Asians as the scion of a prominent and ultra-rich Chinese Singaporean family. He didn't look Chinese enough.

There is almost an unsaid "purity" test for who can call themselves Asian. Some people look down their nose at those who are not "full-blooded" Filipino.

Outside the entertainment sphere, in an ordinary social context, I've encountered this haughty attitude from some first-generation immigrant Filipinos. Because I don't speak one of the dialects from the Philippines, I can't really call myself Filipino even though both my parents are from the Philippines, my dark skin clearly marks me as non-white and I have this odd-sounding  last name. 

Although this season's American Crime Story has Versace's name in the title, the series is really about Andrew Cunanan.

Criss shares a remarkable resemblance to the real Cuananan, who like Criss is half-Filipino (or as described in Filipino circles as "mestizo"). Both were born in California; Cunanan in National City and Criss calls the San Francisco Bay Area home. Both enjoy boyish good looks.

Both also have a captivating personality and that's where the resemblance ends. Criss - up to now - has used his personality to further his career and brand; but Cunanan used his personality for evil, to manipulate the people around him.

RELATED: Who has the right to call oneself Asian?

“The idea of not whitewashing the half-Filipino side and casting a white dude was important,” said producer Nina Jacobson. “Darren had (the author's) endorsement and understanding of him as an actor, great look for the part, and then was authentically half Filipino like Andrew was.”

Tonight's first episode will introduce us to Cunanan, the darkest role that Criss has had to portray. Usually associated with musicals for his role in Glee and the Broadway musical Hedwick and the Angry Inch, Criss has had to dig deep to portray the sociopath.

Cunanan, Criss told Vanity Fair, was “someone who had the potential to do so much more. How does that person become synonymous with something so sad, violent, or scary?” He adds, “It’s a story about the have and have-not—the ultimate creator and the ultimate destroyer.”

There's a chilling scene in which Cunanan, portrayed by Criss,  expresses his chameleon-like ability to be whatever he needs to be or whatever the person he's speaking to wants him to be: “I’m a banker. I’m a stock broker, I’m a shareholder. I’m a paperback writer. I’m a cop. I’m a naval officer—sometimes I’m a spy. I build movie sets in Mexico and skyscrapers in Chicago. I sell propane in Minneapolis. I import pineapples from the Philippines. You know, I’m the person least likely to be forgotten.”

"I'm Andrew Cunanan."

“Darren was, to me, the male version of Sarah Paulson,” American Crime Story creator Ryan Murphy said to reporters after a panel, invoking his muse who played Marcia Clark in The People Vs. O.J. Simpson. Murphy saw her as a lead actor and gave her that role to show the world. He sees that career-launching pad for Criss in the role of Andrew Cunanan.

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace airs tonight (Wed. Jan. 17) on the Fox Network, 10 p.m.

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