Fil-Am Darren Criss proud to win 1st Tony lead musical actor
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American actor Darren Criss acknowledged his Filipino heritage following his historic win at the recently concluded 2025 Tony Awards.
Criss won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for "Maybe Happy Ending."
As a producer on the show, he also received a trophy as it won Best Musical.
On his social media accounts, Criss shared a screenshot of a Playbill article that said he was the first Asian American actor to win Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.
The actor simply captioned his posts with an emoji of the Philippine flag.
Thespian Lea Salonga — who presented "Maybe Happy Ending" during the Tony Awards last June 8 (the 9th in the Philippines) — commented on Criss' Instagram post, "I knew I recognized that voice! It's mine! Thanks!"
Salonga became the first actress of Asian descent to win a Tony Award when she won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical in 1991 for "Miss Saigon."
This year, that award went to another Filipino-American, former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger for her Broadway debut in the "Sunset Blvd" revival.
A third Filipino-American, music director Marco Paguia, won Best Orchestrations for "Buena Vista Social Club."
Past Tony winners with Filipino heritage include Jhett Tolentino, Robert Lopez, Clint Ramos, and Raymond Poliquit. Other artists with Filipino heritage who were nominated at the Tonys include Eva Noblezada, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Loretta Ables Sayre.
RELATED: Fil-Ams Nicole Scherzinger, Darren Criss score 1st Tony wins
- Latest
- Trending
