Darren Criss was born and raised mostly in San Francisco, California with a four-year stint in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Criss appears to have been raised Catholic since he went to several Catholic schools growing up.[1] But his faith takes a slightly more ambiguous form these days. Referring to the famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, Criss said:
I believe in things greater than us, and I believe in love and human beings, and I believe in reverence and spirituality and divinity. Whether or not that is embodied in whatever Dawkins might call God isn't really important to me. I just believe in the greater something and I believe in good people.[2]
And even if he doesn't consider himself Catholic anymore, he appears to hold Jesus in pretty high regard. When asked who would be on his ideal Comic-Con panel, Criss named "Jesus Christ of Nazareth" among others including Christopher Walken, Gandhi, and John Lennon.[3] I'd stay for that show.
The Politics of ,Glee
Darren Criss is definitely a Democrat. He performed at an Obama fundraiser focused on the LGBT community in 2012, and he seemed pretty excited to give the President a fist bump at the event.[4]
And that fundraiser was only one of many things he's done to show his support for a cause that's deeply important to him:
I grew up in San Francisco and I did theater growing up and so I was kind of inadvertently raised by the gay community, and it's something that's always been very prominent in my social consciousness as far as what really mattered to me.[5]
Criss automatically entered the political landscape when he took the role of an openly gay teen on the popular TV show Glee. The show has been criticized by some conservatives, namely radio host Glenn Beck who called its message "horrifying."[6] Criss has gladly embraced the political side of his role:
It's been really special for me because the character is something that I'm very personal about, something I believe in, and it just so happens to be attached to a socio-political package that I'm very invested in.[7]
Among several other charities, the actor supports the Trevor Project which aims to prevent suicides among LGBT teens. Seems right up his alley.
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