#egot

Rita Moreno for LIFE Magazine, 1954.

Darren Criss would inch closer to EGOT with a Grammy win for ‘Maybe Happy Ending’

Sadly, no one will achieve EGOT by winning a Grammy in 2026. There are currently 10 living performers who are a Grammy away from completing the grand slam (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and none of them received noms this year. But there is an actor who could get one step closer to the crowning achievement of show business awards: Darren Criss. The 38-year-old performer is already halfway there. The first industry accolade he received was the Emmy. He won Best Movie/Limited Actor in 2018 for his performance as real-life spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which was the second season of the American Crime Story anthology series. That was a historic victory as it made Criss the first person of Filipino descent to win the award. And it was just the beginning as he would follow that victory with triumphs at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and SAG Awards a few months later. Next for Criss was the Tony. He claimed Best Actor in a Musical in 2025 for his performance as love-struck helper robot Oliver in Maybe Happy Ending. That was also a historic moment as it was the first victory in that category for an Asian actor. He capped off the night by winning Best Musical as a coproducer of the same show.

Sir John Gielgud was an acclaimed British actor on the stage, film, and television. He was best known for his Shakespearean roles, but internationally he may be best remembered for the imperious butler in the movie “Arthur” (1982) which starred Dudley Moore as a perpetually drunk millionaire. Gielgud won an Oscar (Best Supporting Actor category) for the role. This helped make him a rare breed of actors - achieving an EGOT - winning awards in four major categories: Emmy (television) 2, Grammy (recordings) - 1, Oscar (film) - 1, Tony (American stage) - 3.

Gielgud also had a less known distinction - a criminal record for exposing his cock to a cop. The actor was gay, and most in the acting community knew it. But at the time, sex between men was illegal. In 1953 (the same year he was knighted as “Sir”), Gielgud was arrested for "persistently importuning for immoral purposes" (aka cruising for sex in a men’s public lavatory in 1953). Gielgud had used a stage name on the arrest record. When he appeared before a judge, he was only fined £10. But a journalist recognized him.

A few days later, Gielgud was in Liverpool preparing to go on stage. But he was shown the latest newspaper headline - the notorious British press had gotten hold of the story of his arrest. Gielgud was horrified and afraid he’d be jeered off the stage - that his career was over. But castmate Sybil Thorndike grabbed him and dragged him on stage, saying:

"Come on, John, darling, they won't boo me!”

To Gielgud’s surprise, the audience gave him a standing ovation.

The same year Gielgud met Paul Anstee, a young stage designer 24 years younger than the actor. The duo often traveled together and socialized with people such as Truman Capote and Somerset Maugham. But Gielgud always seemed to find time to see other men. They neatly broke up in 1956 when Anstee discovered Gielgud was having an affair with a professor at Princeton.

Gielgud did feel some remorse for seeing the professor behind Anstee back. He admitted to a friend:

“I do feel such a treacherous bitch… (but) I cannot be bothered with intrigues, lies, and subsequent recriminations.”

Gielgud’s relationship with Anstee finally ended when the actor met Martin Hensler in 1962, at an art exhibition. Hensler was a temperamental Hungarian and 28 years younger than Gielgud.

Hensler went from being an “agreeable once-a-week diversion” to becoming Gielgud’s long-term partner. After ending his relationship with Anstee amicably, Gielgud invited Hensler to live with him.

In 1988, in the program notes for Gielgud’s final stage performance, he acknowledged Martin Hensler as his partner. Considering his age and the era, this was a significant step for the actor.

They would be together for 37 years until Hensler’s death in 1999. Gielgud died of natural causes the next year at the age of 96.

Note: Although Gielgud and Hensler were together nearly four decades, I could not find any photos of the two men together. There are a few of Gielgud and Anstee, but they are watermarked.

Lady Gaga has just been awarded her first Emmy Award for her performance of "Hold My Hand" at Super Bowl LIX.