Is Darren Criss Asian-American? Netflix’s ‘Hollywood’ Star Calls Heritage His ‘Ace Up His Sleeve’

Darren Criss‘s new Netflix drama, Hollywood, is not like any other drama the actor has starred before. 

Raymond Ansley, the fictional character that Criss plays, is half Asian in the drama.

Ansley is a Hollywood star that has benefited from his caucasian-looking face throughout his career, despite him being a half Filipino. 

The fictional star has never got a role in Hollywood that represents his Asian ethnicity, mainly because of the harsh reality for the minorities in the movie industry, which still hesitates to put Asian-American on the big screen.

The story starts when he meets another Chinese-American actress, Anna May Wong (Michelle Krusiec), who has always been discriminated from the racist studio system prevalent in Hollywood. 

The plot mirrors what Criss has been dealing with his Hollywood career.

“I have the luxury of being half-white and looking more caucasian, so it doesn’t weigh on my conscience as much, like, ‘Ugh, why aren’t there more roles?'” Criss told Vulture in 2018.

Following the interview, he clarified on his Twitter that he doesn’t really enjoy his misinterpreted identity in the Hollywood world.

“Just to clarify- 1 of my favorite things about myself is that I’m half Filipino. PERIOD. I happen to not look like it, but THAT fact is not what I like. I like the fact that most people don’t know it’s an ace up my sleeve, an ace I’m very proud of, regardless of what I look like,” Criss said.

Just to clarify- 1 of my favorite things about myself is that I'm half Filipino. PERIOD. I happen to not look like it, but THAT fact is not what I like. I like the fact that most people don't know it's an ace up my sleeve, an ace I'm very proud of, regardless of what I look like.

— Darren Criss (@DarrenCriss) March 15, 2018