and we're going to be together for many, many more

Cubellas, Barcelona

Pamela Rivas - Photography, September 2015

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This time two years ago, you probably only vaguely knew who actress Sarah Paulson was, if you knew her at all. So now, let’s go ahead and take a temperature check when it comes to your current familiarity with Darren Criss. Lemme guess…Glee, maybe? Well, we’re just days away from that changing significantly.

The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story was a career and life-changing role for Paulson. Portraying Marcia Clark put her on the map, on more screens, and on the minds of average television consumers. Before that, her consistent career included appearing in executive producer Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story and picking up critical kudos for her roles in Martha Marcy May Marlene, 12 Years Slave, and Carol (and not nearly enough attention for her excellence in Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, if we’re being honest). But after she transformed into the sympathetic, cigarette-smoking, permed prosecutor, the world finally understood the talent that this woman was sharing with the world. This resulted in Critics’ Choice, Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG statues and roles in this year’s likely Oscar-nominated The Post as well as the highly anticipated Ocean’s 8. She’s straight up unstoppable.

And yet, that Ryan Murphy magic is at it again for the 2018 installment of American Crime Story, and this time it’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace. While Edgar Ramirez is great as Versace and Penelope Cruz as Donatella will spur gifs wide across the internet, it’s Darren Criss who will send shivers up and down and back up your spine throughout the entire series. He’s creepy, he’s precise, and he’s absolutely impossible to take your eyes off of. As spree-killer Andrew Cunanan, he is giving a provocative performance that will have people talking and showering him with awards. Go ahead, just carve the Emmy for him now. It’s going to be hard for any other male actor to come close to what Criss is bringing this year.

Oh, and that’s not just because it’s fantastic. It’s also startling because we’ve never seen anything like this from him. What happened to that kid from Glee who sang his heart out on “Teenage Dream”? Criss brought his charm to the Kristen Wiig rom-com Girl Most Likely in 2012 but has never quite achieved the recognition he’s deserved for the acting, singing, and general musical theater skills he’s bringing to the game. All of that changes with The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

It’s unlikely you thought to yourself, “2018 is the year I want to be supremely creeped the eff out by Darren Criss,” but that wish is about to come true for you anyway. His performance in the FX drama will give you a delightful and exciting whiplash in the way it switches from frantic to controlled, emotional to subtle, and straight up scary to intriguing. Criss will be catapulted to a household name, and one that we’re kind of freaked out by, but mostly in a good way, right?

Criss has wisely braced himself for this moment. With a new EP released just a few weeks ago, and a schedule clear of any upcoming productions, he’ll be fielding offers left and right — for theater, tours, massive movies, more series TV. He’s already got a fanbase built in, not that they’re ready for what they’re about to see, but it will only expand from here. The key to it all is that he’s just gotta stay on that Paulson path: remain as affable as it gets in real life and on talk shows, remember to thank Ryan Murphy & co. in your awards acceptance speeches, and keep it about the work — and interesting work, at that. But now that we know what he’s capable of, it would be cool if he could just lean closer to the teenage dream than the nightmares he’s able to create.