Darren Criss, who plays Andrew Cunanan on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, did a lot of press ahead of the show’s premiere, but it’s an interview with Buzzfeed’s AM to DM that I can’t stop thinking about. Watching the series back, Criss said parts of the season felt “as if we’re watching one of Andrew’s own delusions.” That’s what so much of the show is about, really. Not just the murder, but the lies that surround it, and perhaps more poignantly, the lies Cunanan told himself that got him in this position.
But that’s a little more nuanced than I’m trying to get right now. I’ll leave his psyche up to the phycologists out there, and instead focus on what’s really entertaining: the crazy, batshit lies Cunanan spouts to his friends and acquaintances in order to seem cool. It’s almost impressive how brazenly the character ignores the truth, confidently contradicting scenes we just saw happen.
I guess that’s why Criss definitely, truly deserves an Emmy (you can fight me on that). The actor so convincingly delivers these lies that you, the viewer, start questioning the truth. That’s why I’ve made sure to fact-check these claims against Cunanan’s own life story — or at least, the claims he hasn’t already contradicted himself. He has certainly had a wild life (and death), but there are some things that are too outrageous to be true, even for a killer.
Despite the 10-episode arc, I’m worried we may never know what really went on inside Cunanan’s brain, and even if the show tells us, is that just another delusion? Your guess is as good as mine, but ahead are the most outrageous things the character has said that we know for certain never happened.
Cunanan says he and Gianni Versace met before at a garden party in Italy.
He tells his friends that, contrary to what we just watched, Versace introduced himself to Cunanan at the club.
Cunanan says he picked pineapples on his father’s pineapple plantations in the Philippines — but while Cunanan was half-Filipino, he was born and raised in California.
Cunanan told Versace his father was the personal pilot for Imelda Marcos, the First Lady of the Philippines.
Cunanan also told Versace that his father runs his businesses abroad, but was just in town driving around with his boyfriend following his coming out. Actually, his father deserted his family when Cunanan was 19 to escape arrest for embezzlement.
One of Cunanan’s alias’ Kur DeMarrs, a man who was born in Nice and moved to America to become a fashion student. He tells the receptionist that he’s traveled to Miami to speak to Versace, who he claims is very excited to talk with him.
Cunanan says he dedicated his life to helping sick people in San Diego.
He also claims his best friend and his lover both died in the same year from AIDS/HIV-related complications.
He says Versace proposed to him during a romantic meal at Stars, but things didn’t work out and now they’re friends.
The Most Outrageous Lies Andrew Cunanan Has Told On “American Crime Story”
ACS news 