Darren Criss is an American actor, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and a founding member and co-owner of the theater production company Team StarKid. He played Harry Potter in the musicals A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel, and currently portrays Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, in the TV series Glee. Criss is set to make his Broadway debut in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in January 2012.

Criss was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Cerina (née Bru) and Charles William Criss, a banker and a former director of the San Francisco Opera, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Stern Grove Festival, and San Francisco Performances. His mother is from Cebu, Philippines, and his father is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From his mother's side, Criss states that he is a mix of "a little Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino", and he has Irish ancestry from his father's side. He has an older brother named Charles "Chuck" Criss who is part of the indie rock band Freelance Whales.

In 1988, the Criss family relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, where Criss's father started the East West Bank, serving as Chairman and CEO. They lived there until their return to San Francisco in 1992. At the age of five, Criss began taking violin lessons and continued his classical training up through university. He additionally taught himself guitar, piano, cello, mandolin, and drums.

Criss completed his elementary education at Stuart Hall for Boys, and then later graduated from Saint Ignatius College Preparatory in 2005. During his time at Saint Ignatius, he was part of the student government, the school orchestra, and the performing arts program for which he was awarded the 'Theater Arts Leadership Award' and the 'Fine Arts Plaque Award' in 2005. He was also awarded the National Latin Exam Award in 2002 (Maxima Cum Laude) and 2003 (Magna Cum Laude). In 2009, Criss obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Performance from the University of Michigan.

Criss is a series regular on the FOX television show Glee. He portrays Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student. Criss made his first appearance in season two in the episode "Never Been Kissed", which aired on November 9, 2010. Blaine attended Dalton Academy and was lead singer of its glee club, The Warblers. He was a recurring character for the rest of the season, appearing first as a mentor and friend to main character Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer and now as his boyfriend. In season three, Blaine transferred to William McKinley High School and joined their glee club, New Directions.

Glee creator Ryan Murphy explained the purpose of Criss's role on the show, stating, "Darren has a major, major arc... [Blaine] sort of becomes Kurt's mentor and then maybe love – Kurt had to leave his own school because of bullying and goes to an all-boys academy and finds acceptance because that school has a zero-tolerance no-bullying policy. So Kurt really admires him and respects him. He plays someone who's one year older than Chris's character, so he's the old pro."

On March 26, 2011, Criss performed to benefit the AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Criss is also a spokesperson for the Rock the Vote organization and its Democracy Day campaign. On March 23, 2011, he helped launch Democracy Class, a "national high school civics program...that uses pop culture, video, a classroom discussion and a mock election to teach young people the skills to navigate the elections process and engage as active citizens".