Jenna’s MVP: Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan (American Crime Story: Versace)
Why he’s the MVP: When we first saw Darren Criss on Glee years ago, who could have predicted his versatility as an actor? In American Crime Story: Versace, he plays Andrew Cunanan, the serial killer who went on a murder spree in the late 1990s, killing designer Gianni Versace among others. Taking on characters based on real people is always tricky, but Criss certainly delivers. Besides the fact that he looks eerily similar to the real Cunanan, he also takes on a persona unlike any of his other previous roles. Criss strikes an effective balance between portraying Cunanan as the public saw him, and making his own creative decisions for the role.
In this week’s episode, “House by the Lake,” we follow Cunanan as he commits a murder in the opening act, forcing him on the run with his former lover and roommate, David. The episode heavily plays upon Cunanan’s affinity for escaping reality and living in a fantasy world, which Criss portrays brilliantly. In particular, his line delivery — with the rises and falls of his voice, making everything, even murder, sound like a game to Cunanan — really drives home just how delusional Cunanan is.
Cunanan is desperate to make a life with David, despite the horror he’s forced David to experience. Criss plays on Cunanan’s highly charged emotions toward David by having Cunanan toss him intense, wide-eyed stares and using very particular body language (touching David’s back here, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him there). All this adds to the viewer’s extreme discomfort and concern for David throughout their time on the run.
But Cunanan certainly isn’t a stable individual, and Criss effortlessly slips from sing-song contentedness into sheer mania by the end of the episode. One of the very last shots of the episode features Cunanan curled up holding David’s dead body (after Cunanan shot him in the head). Criss’ subtle changes of expression from sadness to apathy, even in such a small moment, are truly chilling.
There’s truly no way to escape Criss’ magnetism throughout the episode and the show in general. He’s taken a complex man and made him an even more complex character, and I can’t wait to see him shine in the rest of the season.
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