Darren Criss plays another Filipino American character in his latest outing

Some three years ago, Darren Criss got into trouble questioning his identity because of his mixed racial heritage -- white and Filipino.

Since then, in the roles he's taken and public statements he's made, there is no doubt of his pride in being a Filipino American. In his latest project, Netflix's llmited series Hollywood, which debuts May 1 on Netflix, Criss plays Raymond Ainsley, an aspiring movie director who is half Filipino.

It would be the second Filipino American character played by Criss, whose mother is from the Philippines. In 2018, he won plaudits, including an Emmy and Golden Globe, for his portrayal of Filipino American serial killer Andrew Cunanan in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

When he won his Golden Globe, he thanked his mother: “This has 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.”

Hollywood is set in post-World War II, Tinseltown's so-called Golden Age. In reality, it wasn't a golden age for actors of color or the LGBTQ. Just Google Anna May Wong, Rock Hudson or Hattie McDaniel.

Based on the subject matter and the trailer, Criss could very well be up for awards again.

The Ryan Murphy fictional drama follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers as they try to make a career in the movies, amid the prejudices stacked against their race, gender, and sexualities.

“We began a lovingly constructed look at how I wished Hollywood would have operated back then; a world where women, gay people, and people of color could flourish,” Ryan explains in a statement. “I think the world would be very different than it is today if that happened.”

Hollywood has the glitz and glamor associated with that era and features

Criss' character Raymond Ainsley is one of the main characters. Ainsley is a Filipino American passing as white., who "aspires to broaden the stories Hollywood tells." 

Criss, who admits he benefited from his looks giving him the ability to portray white characters. [I was] eager to explore what that means for somebody who passes as white in an era where that is a socio-economic advantage," Darren says. 

"What does it mean when you're given opportunities, and what is your responsibility to the people in your life who don't have access to those opportunities?" 

For those actors of color, those questions are just as relevant in 2020 as they were in 1940s Hollywood. In Raymon Ainsley, Criss appears to be answering those questions raised by his doubters. Nevertheless, perhaps because of ethnic ambiguity, outside of his legion of  Filipino American fans, Criss has not been warmly embraced by the Asian Americans since his breakout role in the TV hit Glee. Hollywood may change that.

The series was co-written by Janet Mock, who is part Hawaiian, and features Michelle Krusiec as Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star. There will also be bevy. of special-guest-star appearances by Maude Apatow, Mira Sorvino, Rob Reiner, Michelle Krusiec, and Queen Latifah, playing some of the best known actors of that era.

In addition to having one of the lead roles, Criss was also executive producer.

Hollywood debuts on Netflix beginning May 1.

AAPI transgender activists fight Trump rollback

Janet Mock on her Instagram

OUTSIDE of Caitlyn Jenner, two of the most visible transgender women in the U.S. today are a Hawaii-born journalist and an internationally famous model, who is an immigrant from the Phiilippines.

When the Trump administration rolled back federal mandates for the use of school bathrooms for transgender people, Janet Mock and Geena Rocero had to act. They had to speak out.

Mock's medium was the New York Times where she published an oped stating recalling her experience in school.

"I was a black and Native Hawaiian trans girl from a single-parent home. I was not naïve," Mock wrote. "I knew that struggle was part of my coming of age, so I wore a smile every day as part of my armor. I didn’t want anyone to see that I was in pain, that I felt like I did not belong and that my body, my clothing, my being was wrong.

"When trans students are told that they cannot use public facilities, it doesn’t only block them from the toilet — it also blocks them from public life," wrote Mock, whose mother is Hawaiian. "It tells them with every sneer, every blocked door, that we do not want to see them, that they should go hide and that ultimately they do not belong. When schools become hostile environments, students cannot turn to them. Instead they are pushed out. And without an education, it makes it that much more difficult to find a job, support themselves and survive.

"That is the situation the Trump administration is creating. Despite the culture of fear, ignorance and intolerance that permeates our country right now, I am here to tell each and every student that you belong, and that nothing — absolutely nothing — is wrong with you." 

The day the current administration announced the 180-degree policy shift, Geena Rocero took to the streets and joined the rally Thursday night at New York City's Stonewall Inn, a historically important site in  the gay rights movement

Geena Rocero at theh New York protest.

"I stand here with all of you, as a VERY PROUD Transgender Woman of color, an immigrant born and raised in the Philippines," Rocero said.

"No amount of Hate, No amount of ignorance will diminished our will to honor the beauty, the diversity, the hope of your trans youth.

"In this very moment, in this powerful gathering, in this historic place," she continued. "History has tried to erase us! I asked you to look at each other, recognize the power in our family, because they will NEVER, EVER ERASE the CIVIL RIGHTS that we deserve. LOVE will win! "

Despite Trump's campaign promise to support the rights of the LGBTQ community, the former Olympic athelete Jenner was perhaps the most surprised by the turnaround from the candidate whom she strongly supported in 2016. 

Using this administration's favorite form of communication, Jenner tweeted:

"I have a message for President Trump from well, one Republican to another. This is a disaster. And you can still fix it. You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community," she said, holding up her hand like a mock telephone. "Call me."

On Thursday after the policy reversal was signed, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a letter urging the State Education Department “to issue a directive to all school districts making it clear that – regardless of Washington’s action – the rights and protections that had been extended to all students in New York remain unchanged under state law.

“In New York, whether you are gay, straight or transgender, Muslim, Jewish or Christian, rich or poor, black or white or brown, we respect all people – and we will continue to enforce our laws and stand united against those who seek to drive us apart,” Cuomo said.

In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that in light of action by the Trump administration to roll back federal guidelines, he has signed an executive order ensuring that the rights of transgender students continue uninterrupted.
California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, issued a strident press release on Wednesday vowing that the Golden State will protect the “rights of transgender students.”

“All students deserve a safe and supportive school environment. California will continue to work to provide that environment for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students regardless of any misguided directives by the federal government and the Trump administration,” Torlakson said.

“... California students will continue to have their civil rights protected,” he said. “In California we move forward, not backward.”

“Every child deserves to attend school without fear of discrimination, no matter where they are in the country," said Sasha W, Organizing Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance. "This a continuation of the administration’s attack on trans people – trans and gender nonconforming people were affected by the Muslim ban, by the escalation of this country’s deportation machine, and by the increase of power in the hands of police. This administration shamelessly continues to enact policies that simply do not work and that make our communities feel more unsafe in this country.”

In the NYTimes, Mock concluded: "I know first hand how utterly vital it is for young people -- for all of us actually -- to be met with nods, applause, and open doors. It’s even more urgent for marginalized students, regardless of their ability, race, class, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation or gender expression and/or identities.

"To young trans folk (and all the people who love them) I just want you to remember that this is your school too. You deserve to be there just as much as any other student. You deserve equal access, affirmation and an education, and you must recognize and I know you know, that you are powerful. You have agency and voice. Use it to organize, combat against ignorance and resist.

"You belong, and nothing -- absolutely nothing -- is wrong with you."

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Janet Mock is the author of “Redefining Realness” and the forthcoming book “Surpassing Certainty: What My 20s Taught Me.”

Geena Rocero is the founder of Gender Proud, whose work supports transgender communities and their legal rights around the world.