Darren Criss proud to be first Filipino Golden Globe winner, dedicates award to Cebuana mom

“We couldn’t agree more, Darren Criss. Here’s to more in the coming years!” (Photo: @GoldenGlobes/Twitter)

The country’s talent hits a milestone once again as actor Darren Criss becomes the first Filipino to receive a Golden Globe, honored for his performance as serial killer Andrew Cunanan in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” The ceremony of the 76th Golden Globe Awards took place at The Beverly Hilton in California last Sunday, January 6.

During his acceptance speech, Darren made sure to dedicate his award to his mother, who is originally from Cebu. In his words, “This has been a marvelous year for representation in Hollywood, and I’m so enormously proud to be a teeny-tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipino woman,” he adds, “Mom, I know you’re watching this. I dedicate this to you.”

In interviews, Darren also referred to his mother when speaking about his inspiration of getting into showbiz, best known for his role as Blaine in hit musical series “Glee.” He also always shares that upon receiving that role, the first thing he did to celebrate was go to a Filipino restaurant in Los Angeles with his family.

When recently speaking to online magazine “Deadline Hollywood,” Darren said that being Filipino is “a great privilege – and [he is] proud to be part of that,” sharing, “I feel like I have been given a superhero cape and I am glad to step up to that plate.”

When talking about that diversity in his speech, Darren is also pertaining to the fact that fellow Asian Sandra Oh, who also hosted the show, becomes the first minority to bag the award for Best Actress in a TV series, recognized for her role as Eve Polastri in drama “Killing Eve.” Her Korean immigrant parents were ecstatic and in tears as their daughter received her award, Sandra’s speech wowing the audience. She shares, “I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here and look out onto this audience and witness this moment of change. I’m not fooling myself. Next year could be different and probably will be.

But right now, this moment is real.”