Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and composer. He is also a founding member and co-owner of StarKid Productions, a media and musical theater production company based in Chicago. He is best known for portraying Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, on the FOX television series Glee.Criss first garnered attention playing the lead role of Harry Potter in StarKid's musical productions of A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel. In January 2012, he made his Broadway debut, starring as J. Pierrepont Finch in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.Criss was born in San Francisco, California, the youngest son of Cerina (née Bru) and Charles William Criss, a banker and a former director of the San Francisco Opera, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Stern Grove Festival, and San Francisco Performances. Criss is Eurasian – his mother, a native of Cebu, Philippines, is of Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino descent, while his father, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is of Irish descent He has an older brother named Charles "Chuck" Criss (born April 15, 1985), a musician and member of the indie rock band Freelance Whales. Criss and his brother were raised in San Francisco, except from 1988 to 1992, when the family relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, and their father started the East West Bank, serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Criss' interest in music and the performing arts started in his early childhood — at the age of five, he began taking violin lessons, and, at ten, he was accepted into the Young Conservatory program of the American Conservatory Theater; concurrently, he made his professional stage debut, performing at the musical theater company 42nd Street Moon Criss later became a multi-instrumentalist, mastering the violin, guitar, piano, cello, mandolin, harmonica, and drums, and he began composing songs by the age of fifteen.Criss completed his elementary education at Stuart Hall for Boys, and then later graduated from Saint Ignatius College Preparatory in 2005; both are private Catholic schools located in the San Francisco Bay Area. During his time at Saint Ignatius, he was a member of various clubs, including the school government and the performing arts program, for which he was awarded the "Theater Arts Leadership" and the "Fine Arts" awards Criss was also a violinist in the school orchestra, where he held the position of concertmaster.Academically, he received the National Latin Exam Award in 2002 (Maxima Cum Laude) and 2003 (Magna Cum Laude) Criss majored in Theater Performance at the University of Michigan (he additionally pursued minors in Musicology and Italian, until opting out prior to graduation), and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2009.Criss portrays Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, on the FOX television show Glee. He made his first appearance in season two in the episode "Never Been Kissed", which aired on November 9, 2010. Blaine attended Dalton Academy and was lead singer of its glee club, The Dalton Academy Warblers. Blaine initially served as a friend and mentor for Kurt Hummel, the bullied gay member of the Warblers' rival glee club, New Directions. Chemistry between the two characters, combined with fan support for the potential couple, led series co-creator Ryan Murphy to pair them romantically onscreen. At the beginning of the third season, Blaine transfers to McKinley High and joins New Directions; concurrently, Criss was promoted from recurring guest star to the show's main cast.Discussing public response to his character, Criss stated that he particularly enjoyed comments from "people from parts of the world who are maybe not as exposed to certain ideologies", but had reconsidered their stance on relationships and human rights as a result of the Blaine and Kurt storyline. He called this response "phenomenal", and said: "I was a straight kid growing up in a very gay community and it's something that I've had to watch so many friends have to struggle with and have no place to go to identify in kind of a grander media culture. To be a small piece of that machine is incredibly wonderful."The character of Blaine Anderson was voted No. 1 on AfterElton's list of Top 50 Favorite TV Characters (2012).Criss' early television career includes roles on the television series Eastwick and Cold Case.Criss is a supporter of the LGBT community and its causes. In December 2010, and again in 2011, he performed at 'Trevor Live', an event held in support of The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Criss is the recipient of Variety's Power of Youth Philanthropy award for his contributions to The Trevor Project. Criss is a spokesperson for the Rock the Vote organization and its Democracy Day campaign. On March 23, 2011, he helped launch Democracy Class, a "national high school civics program...that uses pop culture, video, a classroom discussion and a mock election to teach young people the skills to navigate the elections process and engage as active citizens" Criss recorded the Bob Dylan song "New Morning", featuring his brother Chuck Criss, for Amnesty International. It was part of the compilation album Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International, released on January 24, 2012. Criss was chosen by UNICEF Philippines to represent their organization and accept a $25,000 donation from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the disaster relief of Tropical Storm Washi, on March 8, 2012. Criss is the spokesperson for the Festival of New American Musicals. The organization's mission is "to foster the creators, to train and showcase the performers and in the process also to help build the next generation of musical theater audience and support." It's honorary co-chairs are Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Jerry Herman, Angela Lansbury, and Jason Alexander.