An early use of the term comes from a 2014 post on the blogging site Tumblr, which discusses a pink-and-blue-washed scene in the BBC’s Sherlock and speculates about the hidden desires of Dr John Watson.
A more recent, and commonly discussed, example of bisexual lighting can be seen in the San Junipero episode of the Netflix show Black Mirror.
The Emmy Award-winning episode follows the development of a relationship between two bisexual female characters.
Many point out that these colours mirror those of the bisexual pride flag, and suggest the lighting design is a direct reference to the symbol.
Prestige television, similarly, has started feeling formulaic. For every “prestige” show that breaks the mold, like this year’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story or last year’s The Young Pope, there’s a True Detective or Westworld ready to dive into expected territory again.
While the second season of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story may not have had the same water-cooler success in the UK as its predecessor The People vs OJ Simpson, it could go on to have a greater cultural impact – if nothing else, as the springboard for Darren Criss, the magnetic young actor who stars as serial killer Andrew Cunanan.
Before the series aired, promo photos for the drama featured dazzling, pink-hued shots of Edgar Ramirez and Penelope Cruz as legendary designer Versace and his sister Donatella, but they turned out to be little more than bit part players. The real story is the corruption of Cunanan’s soul that led him to embark on a five-person killing spree, ending with the murder of Versace on the front steps of his Miami mansion in July 1997.
It represented a huge challenge for actor Criss, who is best known for his role in musical sitcom Glee. How could he humanise the killer without exonerating him? How could he entertain without glamourising his atrocities?
To put it mildly, he succeeded. Criss is at turns terrifying, charming and downright pathetic as the murderer, and is quite rightly tipped to be a force to be reckoned with come awards season. When RadioTimes.com met him in London a couple of weeks ahead of the show’s heartbreaking finale, he spoke openly about the empathy he felt for Cunanan, and the reasons why, he thinks, he went down such a dark path.
“There we were in Miami, in front of the steps [of Gianni Versace’s mansion] recreating this infamous murder,” Criss says, only his immaculately trimmed beard and multi-coloured nail polish betraying him as a different entity to Cunanan.
“This isn’t on a soundstage. This is in broad daylight in a very public place, in the same exact spot. That was just a tsunami of gravitas and weight that really… I haven’t found the proper adjectives for it yet, but it really gave me pause. Yes, you’re telling a story and there are cameras on, but I felt really bizarre to be doing this where it really happened.”
The actor is warm and thoughtful in person, taking each question down a series of meandering paths towards a thorough, considered answer. He doesn’t shy away from speculation about the drama’s wider conclusions about the murders, and has his own thoughts about the implications of Wednesday’s finale.
“It’s a very complex thing,” he says of the possible causes of Cunanan’s killing spree. “There’s this cocktail of a lot of really unhealthy things that were already in place. Things like homophobia in the world around him were just the catalyst to make it all blow up.”
As with the OJ verdict in season one, The Assassination of Gianni Versace contextualises Versace’s murder as a product of the era. Ricky Martin, who plays the designer’s lover Antonio D’Amico, said recently that “homophobia killed Gianni Versace”, suggesting that the FBI’s misunderstanding of the gay community was one of the primary reasons Cunanan was able to evade capture for as long as he did (he was wanted by the FBI for two months prior to shooting the designer).
Criss agrees with Martin to an extent, though he adds that Cunanan’s past played a major role, too: “You know, a lot of these investigative bodies not wanting to go into gay clubs to post flyers [was] not necessarily because they didn’t like gay people, so much as they weren’t sure if that’s something they could do. Maybe they were scared that they’d be perceived as homophobic.”
He continues: “There’s a history of mental health [issues] in his family, and there’s his own social economic situation, which has nothing to do with his sexual identity but his identity as a person in a social context: wanting to be wealthier than he was, and coming from such a poor area and having a delusional father.”
Criss says that while he believed it was his responsibility as an actor to empathise with Cunanan, he doesn’t expect the same from viewers.
“There’s no need to exonerate or forgive – these are horrible things that just break my heart,” he says. “But with someone like Andrew, it doesn’t boil down to just the most horrible things he’s ever done. The pallet of the human experience is so many colours and so many things, and the great thing about our show is that I’m not just playing ‘The Killer’: I’m playing a real person, who had wonderful moments, and we see him at his best, and he was loved, and had really lovely moments with people.”
Criss couldn’t escape Andrew’s humanity, even if he had wanted to. He says that friends and acquaintances of Versace’s killer approach him regularly and regale him – for the most part – with fond stories of their time with him.
“Everybody has an Andrew story. You know, ‘My friend’s boyfriend went out with him one night’, or had a roommate that spent time with him. Everybody tells me these stories, and I would say the majority of them are quite lovely.”
He adds: “You just go, ‘Oh my god, I don’t want to hear that’. I mean, I do, but it’s so sad. It’s just so sad that these people have nice things to say about him because, again, to put [the conflicting ideas of Andrew as a friend and a murderer] together is a hard thing to marry, I guess.”
The star is aware too of the ethical dilemmas for which the series has been criticised since it was announced last year. Among these are the emotional distress it has caused families of victims – the Versace family has voiced their disapproval on multiple occasions, while D’Amico told Radio Times that it was an inaccurate portrayal of his relationship with the designer – but Criss is happy in the belief that the drama was created to serve a greater purpose than exploiting a tragedy.
“I mean, gosh, If any of these things had happened to somebody that I loved would be equally as vocal about it,” he says. “And, if I had the public platform that the Versace family did I would say the exact same thing. I think they’ve every right and every reason to feel the way they do.
“But, I hope they understand that we’re not exploiting a story for commercial value. There’s a larger story at play here that isn’t necessarily about this one horrible thing, which is the Versace murder, but an investigation and exploration of the time and the tragedies which that entails.”
Wednesday’s finale sees Cunanan at the end of his spree, holed up in a houseboat knowing that his days of walking around free in public are numbered. He’s at the end of his tether; members of his victims’ families including Marilyn Miglin and David Madson’s father haunt him through the multiple TV screens dotted throughout the house. he eats dog food to sustain himself, as entering a shop to purchase food would likely see him caught.
Whichever way you look at it, it’s distressing to see a human in such dire straits.
“The real tragedy to me is just the complete and utter loss of promise and potential,” Criss says, “and that someone who was clearly gifted, who could have used his gifts to make something, decided to use them to destroy. That’s the real heartbreak in the American crime, and how that was allowed by a series of circumstances that were sort of out of his control.”
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story has proven a hit with a critics, who have called the show “dark and complex and tragic” (The Guardian) and the lead performance from Darren Criss “electrifying” (Newsday).
But the positive buzz around the true crime series has been marred by criticism from the Versace family itself, which called Ryan Murphy’s dramatisation of Andrew Cunanan’s killings (with fashion designer Gianni Versace his final victim) “a sensational story” based on “second-hand hearsay”.
Former Glee star Criss, who has won universal acclaim for his portrayal of Cunanan, had the opportunity to respond to these criticisms while in conversation with Digital Spyand other press.
“If any of these things had happened to somebody that I loved, I would be equally as vocal about it,” Criss insisted. “If I had the public platform that they have, then I would say the exact same thing. I think they have every right and every reason to feel the way they do. Who doesn’t understand that?”
In a message to the Versace family, Criss said that he and the team who worked on The Assassination of Gianni Versace were “not exploiting a story for commercial value”.
“There’s a larger story at play here, one that isn’t necessarily about this one horrible thing, which is the Versace murder. It’s an investigation and exploration of the time, and of course, the other victims that, until now, haven’t really had a whole lot of voice – at least in popular culture. I think it’s important, talking about them.
"If I’d ever had the chance to meet Gianni Versace, I would have hoped that he would understand that we’re trying to create some kind of light out of this darkness. It’s not exploitative. Like all good storytelling, it’s meant to beg questions and really have us think about things beyond what’s right in front of us.”
But for Criss, it was more important to reflect “the emotional truths” of the story, since so much of “what really happened behind closed doors” remains a mystery. “We don’t know [the facts],” he said. “And I can never deign to say that we’re the moral authority on that.
"I understand how people would be worried about how these things are portrayed. Again, we have the luxury of not having been involved directly in something so traumatic. So I just hope that anybody who had anything to do with… again, I hope that we’re creating light from the dark, and not the other way around.”
Criss went on to dismiss the idea that the TV series in any way “glamourises” the path that Cunanan took, adding that it portrays his actions as “obviously deplorable”.
“It’s pretty clear-cut on the moral spectrum where we stand. So I don’t think it glamorises it. If anything, it just sort of begs the question: how do we get here? And how does this happen?”
Reflecting on writer Tom Rob Smith’s adaptation, which is based on Maureen Orth’s book Vulgar Favors, Criss called it “a Shakespearean tragedy” about a young man “constantly at war with himself”.
“It’s the fall from grace of somebody with enormous potential,” he said. “Other than the obvious heartbreaking tragedy of these homicides, the real tragedy to me is just the complete and utter loss of promise and potential, where somebody – who was clearly gifted – could have really used said gifts to create and make something, but decided to use it to destroy
"That’s the real heartbreak…. and the American crime, really – how that was allowed by a series of circumstances that were outside of his control.”
The hit TV seriesThe Assassination of Gianni Versace has been an explosion of visual opulence: colourful rococo prints, medusa heads, studded leather, and general onslaught of golden-accented nineties gaudiness.
For a crime series to be so deeply entrenched in the realm of fashion is rare, and impressive when one considers there was absolutely no involvement or assistance from the House of Versace, with Donatella stating that the show was a ‘work of fiction’. Rather, costume designers Lou Eyrich and Alison Leach went about gathering vintage Versace from online re-sellers and meticulously re-creating Gianni’s era-defining looks themselves.
The result? A wardrobe so extensive that it had to be stored in warehouses during filming, and so remarkable that we’ve rounded up our favourite looks below:
THE BONDAGE DRESS
In the fall of 1992, Gianni Versace re-crafted fetish wear into high fashion via the Versace ‘Miss S&M’ show, more commonly known as the ‘Bondage’ collection, complete with dog collars, whips, and leather.
The scene pictured above sees Edgar Ramirez (as Gianni) hand in hand with Penelope Cruz (as Donatella) as they storm the red carpet in a weighty recreation of the ’93 moment in which Donatella achieved global stardom while wearing the most famous piece to come from the collection, the bondage dress. Three versions of the dress were made for filming (including one specifically for the scene where Gianni destroys it with scissors).
“It is such an iconic dress, and it it was scripted that it definitely needed to be that dress to tell the story of her coming into her of her own stardom,” costume designer Leach told Vanity Fair on constructing this piece. “Just from a construction standpoint and materials, it was such beautiful leather dress that had to fit perfectly—and all these different angles that the neck and the, you know, skirt had to swath just, just right.”
THE CLASSIC PRINT
Versace robes of today – with their frenzied clashing and colossal, staring Medusa heads – are often met with a raised eyebrow or two, especially given their penchant for attracting the flashy and the trashy.
But, Ricky Martin (who gives a commendable performance as Gianni’s partner, Antonio D’Amico) is clad in a simplistic, elegant rendition. It is not clear if this is authentic Versace or a clever recreation, but the mirroring of the clean blue and white print in the geometric mosaics of the backdrop is visually very satisfying.
THE RED JUMPSUIT
A brief moment of caution-to-the-wind, jaw-droppingly impressive dancing from Darren Chriss (who plays murderer Andrew Cunanan) while wearing an utterly ridiculous, patent red jumpsuit. Devo’s 1980 hit ‘Whip It’ plays in the background, and is the finishing touch that renders this scene our favourite of a series which is, at times, difficult to watch.
In fact, we think you should watch it – and you can do so here.
THE LACE VEIL
The lace veil Penelope Cruz wears in this shot is a direct reference to the one that Donatella Versace wore for her brother’s funeral – stark against the actor’s peroxide blonde wig.
Long has funeral-ware merged with fashion – especially in the case of fashion-funerals, and many of the high-profile guests at Gianni’s funeral (like Princess Diana) wore his designs to commemorate his life’s work. After all, black is the colour of bereavement, but also the most timeless and classic of all hues.
THE FASHION SHOW
The fashion show scene recreated Gianni’s 1997 haute couture show, with it’s leather headbands and Gianni’s Versace bride. It represents a poignant moment in the 90s where a pre-existing desire for athletic, healthy models shifted to one for the ‘waifs’. We see this as a point of contention between the Versace siblings. We particularly enjoyed the recreation of Versace’s ‘bride’ in her glittering silver dress and veil.
In the series, Gianni is quoted as Watch the original show, which took place at the Ritz in Paris, here.
"A bride, in a silver dress, with a veil pulled back behind her head, not covering her face. Not a virgin bride, a Versace bride. She will be a woman who’s loved many men before. A woman who’s finally found her equal, a match for her passions. She won’t be dainty, she won’t be timid. She will be proud and strong. And that’s how I will end my show. "
THE BLUSH PINK FLORAL JACKET
The butterfly is a key motif of Gianni’s Versace reign, and the pink, butterfly-covered, waist-pinching jacket that Cruz wears in the Versace studio scene is unapologetically loud. Add in the huge Medusa head necklace and the heavy black eye makeup and we’re left with pure ostentatious drama, especially when offset with the clean, white shirt Gianni wears in the scene.
We’re doubtful that Penelope Cruz will be taking this look off-camera (even though Margot Robbie recently did).
GIANNI’S PINK AND GOLD ROBE
The breakfast scene that takes place in the courtyard of Gianni’s extravagant villa at the opening of the series – and the spectacular, pink and gold robe he wears carries a lot of visual weight.
The material picks up and compliments the gold and turquoise accents of the casa, and bestows him with a kind of imperious magnificence against the stonewashed white walls of the house. True Miami prestige.
THE LACE SHIRT
The lace shirt Gianni wears on the nightclub scene alludes to (or perhaps authenticates) the original design he made in the 90s – one which was owned by Elton John.
WINGED DANCERS
Here is the program’s reimagining of a night club that many believe it is based on Southbeach’s Twist, a famous gay spot which claimed to have caught Andrew Cunanan on security footage a few days before Versace’s murder during the trial.
Filled to bursting point with muscular, beautiful men clad in gilded angel wings and the hungry eyes of others as classic eighties pop pumps through their limbs, this scene harnesses the fabulous fashion and outrageous fun of the nineties gay scene.
THE DENIM CUT-OFFS
He dresses up, he dresses down. The mid-thigh length denim cut-offs and the sleeveless yellow vest against the backdrop of the Normandy Plaza Hotel (where Cunanan really did stay) is worthy of a mention.
The current series of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story has not only had audiences gripped, but contextualised the circumstances surrounding one of the fashion world’s most infamous murders.
American actor Darren Criss plays serial killer Andrew Cunanan in the anthology series, giving a scene-stealing performance as the young gay man who went on a murderous rampage across the US back in 1997.
His victims included Gianni Versace, as well as Chicago tycoon Lee Miglin, and former US Navy officer Jeffrey Trail.
While Cunanan’s horrific actions are unjustifiable, Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story shines a spotlight on the rife homophobia that existed in America during that period, which would have had an impact on the killer and his mental health.
“It’s not the way he died, it’s the way it was allowed to happen,” Ricky told us. “Back in the 90s – and we have to be careful because history tends to repeat itself – Gianni Versace was killed by a man that was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
“This man was living in Miami but because he was a gay man killing other gay men, everybody turned the other way. That’s what infuriates me.”
When Darren Criss came to London recently, Gay Times sat down with him to ask him if he, like Ricky Martin, felt that it was homophobia that killed Versace.
“I think there’s a lot to that,” Darren told us. “It’s not just homophobia, but that’s not an off-base or incorrect statement at all. It’s a huge part of it – from the way homophobia played out during the investigation.
“When we use the word homophobia I don’t think it necessarily involves the extreme end of what that means. People tend to think of it in terms of hate crimes and violence, but homophobia exists in much smaller systemic ways. It operates institutionally between fear and misunderstanding.
“A lot of the investigative bodies not necessarily wanting to go into gay clubs to post flyers, not because they didn’t like gay people, but because they weren’t sure if that was something they could do. Maybe they were scared they’d be perceived as homophobic.
“There’s a general sort of disconnect between asking questions and being involved that could be put under the category of homophobia. That’s certainly what allowed Andrew to get away with this for so long.”
Darren added: “The media exposure on Andrew Cunanan in general before Versace was killed had a lot to do with the media’s fear of exposing gay murders. Especially after AIDS was a very hot button topic. That’s also another form of homophobia.
“Andrew’s own fear of himself and not wanting to be this thing in certain circles… It manifested itself in so many ways and different bodies that the amalgam of that probably did kill Versace. It’s a very complex thing.
“Andrew’s history of mental health in his family, and his own socio-economic situation was nothing to do with his sexual identity, but his identity as a person socially. He wanted to be wealthier than he was.
“There was this cocktail of really unhealthy things that were already in place, so homophobia being present in the world around him was just the right/wrong catalyst to make it all blow up.”
Elsewhere, Darren Criss told us what playing gay roles on two major US television shows has, as a heterosexual actor, taught him about the gay experience.
The morning of July 15, 1997 fashion icon Gianni Versace was shot and killed outside of his Miami Beach, Florida mansion. The culprit, Andrew Cunanan, whom is responsible for four previous murders that grabbed national attention.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is not solely about Versace. The show navigates you through the present life and flashbacks of Versace and his murderer, Cunanan. Cunanan (played by Darren Criss) becomes vulnerable to the viewer as we see his earlier life as an escort, troubled child, drug addict.
As Versace’s loved ones are forced to start a new life without him. We watch as Donatella Versace (played by Penelope Cruz) and his hubby Antonio D’Amico bump heads constantly. Each of them trying to fight for what is right in this messy situation and while Versace is alive.
There is a scene where the director of the show recreated Versace’s bedroom. His bed is positioned in the middle of his large bedroom. The sheets are black and gold print Versace sheets. Not to mention, the two undressed men going at it on his bed while he stayed completely captivated by his own creations.
The creators of the anthology series are Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, and Tom Rob Smith. There are moments where you know that they could expand on Versace’s love life or relationship with his sister but instead, they put the focus on him being a lover of fashion and design. Something that Versace and Cunanan have in common.
As the show escalates, we take a seat while Cunanan’s character arch begins to reveal its’ ugly head. It is obvious that he is insecure about being homosexual, which explains his desire to mimic the characteristics of heterosexual people. Cunanan’s story progressively becomes odd as his disgust for rich gay men turns into cruel and humiliating murders.
In fact, Cunanan gains more confidence after killing one of the world’s most-famous idols. During his journey, Cunanan befriends a man who goes by the name Ronnie who is gay. Ronnie is a special character because he managed to stay alive while cohabitating with Cunanan so that allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of Cunanan.
The moment that the police brought Ronnie in for questioning the show reached a turning point as Ronnie highlighted the perspective of the gay community during the 90’s. He says, “We all imagined what it would be like to be so rich and so powerful that it doesn’t matter that you’re gay.”
Ronnie really gets deep as he continues to talk about Cunanan. “You’re so used to us lurking in the shadows and, you know, most of us, we oblige,” he continued to say, “People like me, we just drift away. We get sick? Nobody cares.”
As Detective Lori Wieder (played by Dascha Polanco) sat there, listening closely her face read “Shook” in big bold letters. Although, Ronnie knew Cunanan for a short period he learned enough about him. He says, “Andrew was vain. He wanted you to know about his pain. He wanted you to hear. He wanted you to know about being born a lie. Andrew is not hiding. He’s trying to be seen.”
Yes, he was definitely trying to be seen until he got the never-ending national exposure. Cunanan knew that he was the most wanted man in Florida so he decides to hide out in a boathouse. The finale ends with two suicides, tears, and a few solved murders. So you’ll just have to wait to see how this crime anthology unfolds.
The bar was set high for the Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which is the latest installment of the FX’s award-winning limited series, American Crime Story. You may remember their first installment The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which won nine Emmy Awards and 22 nominations. Well, it looks like ACS has done it again!
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is part of a highly addictive dramatised mini-series that, as the title suggests, re-enacts gripping crime stories from recent history. Netflix hit Queer Eye is a spin-off of the 2003 series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, a reality show that sent five fabulous gay men to revamp the life of a hopeless straight man, with plenty of ‘lol’ moments in between.
Despite being vastly different programmes, the one commonality between the two is the accurate, and often touching, portrayal of gay men. It was with relief that I watched American Crime Story and didn’t come across the tropes that usually accompany any type of ‘queer’ male character on mainstream television (I’m looking at you, Will).
Sure, the titular character is a male fashion designer but the campest character was actually Donatella Versace. Played by Penelope Cruz, she flounced around their decadent villa, chain-smoking and giving Ricky Martin side eye while not bothering to replace her native Spanish accent with an Italian one.
Queer Eye has backed away from the ‘outrageous’ gags that made it famous and instead captures poignant encounters between humans from very different walks of life. It is refreshing to watch mainstream productions featuring gay characters that stay well away from tired cliches. Not only are these stereotypes potentially damaging, they also give nasty gay men a hall pass. When gay men make an abhorrent remark about women, they are not being misogynistic but simply playing into the accepted narrative that to be camp is to be cruel.
In reality, gay men are perfectly capable of being just as misogynistic as their hetero counterparts and those that are, often get away with it because quite simply, they are gay.
Take, for instance, Karl Lagerfeld. Karl Lagerfeld’s storied career in fashion is matched by his long history of making derogatory remarks about women. In 2012, he commented that singer Adele was “a little too fat”, despite her “beautiful face”. Back in 2009, he took on the persona of Coco Chanel for an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in which he insisted: “I was never a feminist because I was never ugly enough for that”. In the spirit of fairness, Lagerfeld also insults men with vigour.
Despite his noxious remarks, women continue to fawn over him, and he was lauded by many for his 2014 fashion show in which he sent models down the runway holding placards with feminist slogans. Somewhere along the line, it must have dawned on him that feminism needn’t be ugly so long as you have Cara Delevingne on your catwalk.
While there are plenty of men – I believe the majority of them – who have respect and admiration for women, there are plenty who bury their disregard for women behind a facade.
Heterosexual rugby players who demean women with sexually explicit text messages put this down to laddish locker room talk, while gay men who make vulgar remarks about women are simply being outrageously camp. By endorsing these tired stereotypes, we allow sexism to flourish unchecked.
In 2014, Rose McGowan prompted op-eds everywhere from the Gay Times to The Guardian for talking about ‘gay misogyny’ during a podcast with author Bret Easton Ellis, in which she claimed it is a “huge problem” among gay men.
A lot of her comments were deeply misconstrued, like her claim that “I have heard nobody in the gay community, no gay males, standing up for women on any level.”
If that really is the case, she may want to get herself some new gay friends. I count myself lucky to have many gay men as dear friends. These men are kind, loyal and wickedly funny. However, within the gay community, there are men who make degrading remarks about a woman’s appearance under the guise of camp hilarity, or because they have moulded themselves as a caustic queen. In the gay clubbing scene, it is hardly uncommon for women to face extreme hostility for entering what are perceived to be ‘male only’ spaces.
We castrate heterosexual men for glorifying just one type of beauty, but gay men are just as guilty when they celebrate only the fiercest, most feminine women. The truth is some gay men objectify females just as much as straight men do, forcing women to contend with the (other) male gaze.
[…] Just before the final season started airing, Greenfield had a featured role in “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” That got his creative juices moving and his interest piqued in what kind of dramatic parts he might be able to accept.
Despite the limited series’ dark subject matter, Ryan Murphy, the executive producer, was open to casting someone who had made a name for himself in comedy.
“I had done ‘Horror Story’ with Ryan and we talked about (the miniseries),” Greenfield says. “I was like, ‘Let me put myself on tape for you.’ I sent it over and a week later, I was in Miami.”
Cast as a gay man who encounters Andrew Cunanan, the serial killer who murdered Versace, Greenfield wanted to show how he was able to stretch. “There was a description in the script that was far away from who I was. So, I did some research about that period and talked about the hair and the look he had.”
Murphy, he says, “lets you explore in all the different departments” of a production. Greenfield decided the character would have an earring and a buzz cut, “a homeless haircut and a mustache, but a crooked one. Nothing really was put together on this guy, but he was trying.”
The result: The kind of raves Greenfield hadn’t seen since the premiere of “New Girl.” Then, his quirky Schmidt was hailed as one of the breakout characters of the television season. He nabbed a Best Supporting Actor Emmy nomination and became the go-to guy for offbeat humor.
Darren Criss, previously best known for his role as clean-cut Blaine Anderson in Glee, said he told executive producer Ryan Murphy: “I don’t want to flatter myself but if you can find someone else my age who looks like him and is half-Filipino like he was, then sign them up.”
Cunanan preyed on rich, gay men and was obsessed with Gianni Versace. He murdered at least five people culminating with the shooting of the designer himself in 1997.
Criss’s portrayal has won plaudits from audiences and critics alike and on a whistle-stop visit to London to promote the show and perform a concert, Criss says how little was known about Cunanan’s killing spree before the show was aired.
“Unless you happened to be living in Miami, certain gay communities in San Diego or worked in real estate in Chicago, these were localised things you just wouldn’t have known about,” he explains.
The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story reaches its finale on Wednesday and hints at the homophobia that may have been behind the FBI’s reluctance to investigate the killings.
In one scene some leaflets about Cunanan’s activities are shown still stored in the car boot of a police car.
This, combined with the reluctance of many gay men to speak up – some had survived the Aids scare – allowed the outwardly charming and apparently wealthy Cunanan to stay at large.
“He was not like Jeffrey Dahmer or Charles Manson, whose behavioural patterns all pointed to their eventual homicidal behaviour,” explains Criss, 31, who says of those who knew Cunanan during his teenage years very few had anything negative to say about him.
“One woman, in particular, said to me, ‘I just remember Andrew being so much fun. He was so good to me, he was so sweet. He was just someone you could count on’.”
What curdled Californian-born Cunanan’s character above all, the actor suggests, was that his beloved father, a broker, turned out to be an embezzler who fled to Manilla having sold the family’s house out from under them. The series also hints he sexually abused his son.
“His father was his hero but when your hero does that you can do one of two things. You can either change your way of thinking and shift your adolescence or you can just cover up the stench with more perfume.”
Cunanan chose the latter. He lied to friends and employers that his father was a rich man who owned pineapple plantations in Manilla. Eventually he began lying about himself, enriching his own career and experiences to ensnare and live off the money of wealthy men.
“One day he’d be a rich Israeli, next he was a French diplomat or the designer of the sets for Titanic. It was all delusional.”
The TV series was structured to play the events in reverse order, from the Versace killing to both the victim and killer’s early lives. “It’s almost willing the audience, who already know what he did, to try and find some redemptive qualities in him,” says Criss. Whether they do or not, he says, is up to them.
“Obviously what he did was deplorable and unforgiveable, and nothing positive about him exonerates that. But [his story] questions the complexity of the human experience. We are all as capable of murder just as we are all as capable of having a wonderful night out with friends.”
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