Fil-Am up for Best Actor at Emmy Awards

LOS ANGELES — "The Assassination of Gianni Versace" star Darren Criss, who is of Filipino descent, could become the second Asian-American actor to claim an acting award at the 70th Emmy Awards on September 17, after Riz Ahmed's win last year for "The Night After," a notable back-to-back outcome if it happens.

Criss earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for starring as serial killer Andrew Cunanan in the second installment of Ryan Murphy’s “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianna Versace” in 2018.

Criss will be up against Antonio Banderas (“Genius: Picasso”); Benedict Cumberbatch (“Patrick Melrose”); Jeff Daniels (“The Looming Tower”); John Legend (“Jesus Christ Superstar”); and Jesse Plemons (“Black Mirror: USS Callister”) for the award.

Born to a Cebuana mother and a father of English, Irish, and German descent, Criss was raised in California. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. 

The 31-year-old is best known for portraying Blaine Anderson in the hit musical comedy series “Glee.” His cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” became “Glee’s” fastest-selling single that reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified “gold” in America. Likewise, he was nominated for an Emmy in 2015 for composing the song “This Time” for “Glee’s” finale.

Apart from being a TV actor and singer, Criss co-owns the musical theater company StarKid Productions, for which he famously portrayed Harry Potter in the musical “A Very Potter Musical.” In 2012, he made a Broadway debut when he replaced Daniel Radcliffe in the play “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

In 2015, Darren’s duet with Filipino Tony Award-winning singer-actress Lea Salonga of the Disney classic “A Whole New World,” which Salonga recorded for the animated movie “Aladdin,” went viral on social media.

Darren is engaged to his girlfriend of more than seven years, Mia Swier.

Apart from him, Sandra Oh has the chance to become the first performer of Asian descent to win a lead drama actress trophy at the 2018 Emmys — a victory that would coincide nicely with the landmark box-office success of "Crazy Rich Asians." The Korean-Canadian is nominated for the spy thriller "Killing Eve" after receiving five supporting actress nods for "Grey's Anatomy."

A streaming service or basic cable series has yet to win top comedy, something that FX's "Atlanta" or Amazon Prime Video's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" could change.

Issa Rae of "Insecure" or "black-ish" star Tracee Ellis Ross could become the second African-American to win as best comedy actress, following Isabel Sanford (1981, "The Jeffersons") by 37 years — and making for a 21st-century first.

The 70th Emmy Awards will air on September 17 from Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California. — Reports from Associated Press/Lynn Elber