LOS ANGELES—For Carlin James, playing Christopher, the brother of Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss), in “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” is one of the highlights of his acting career so far.
The Long Beach, California native considers it an honor to get cast in the recent installment of Ryan Murphy’s true crime anthology series, which garnered praise from critics who cited the entire cast’s performances and collected 18 nominations in the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.
James talked about the challenge of “being part of a mixed, Filipino-American TV family that contradicts the model-minority stereotype (understatement).”
He added, “Not to mention, working with Jon Jon Briones and Joanna Adler (who played Modesto and Mary Ann Cunanan, Andrew’s parents). Are you kidding me? Those two are A-plus talents and gracious, amazing people. Just watching them work made me a better actor.”
The Fil-Am’s other credits include numerous TV shows and commercials, including ABC’s “The Middle,” Netflix’s “Dear White People” and the CBS shows, “NCIS” and “Criminal Minds.” Among his recent projects are “Brampton’s Own,” “Broken,” “Turner Risk” and “Indivisible.”
How would you describe your journey as an actor so far? It’s been a rough journey, but one I’m so happy to be on. I’ve struggled, failed and been terrible so much throughout the past few years. But I’m at a point in my life where I can look back and be grateful for all those life-lessons. In my mind, I’m always behind, so I feel like I have a lot more to do to get where I need to go.
How do you prepare for an audition? Any good luck rituals, etc.? When I know I have an audition coming up, it hangs over my head like a cloud. Not in a bad way, but even if it’s a few days away, it’s something I can feel. I start working pretty late at night, and realize I get the most done between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. I do have a terrible sleep schedule, but it’s something that works for me. I have this weird thing about running my scenes in the shower, too. I swear by it. Every job I’ve ever booked was due to an awesome solo shower-rehearsal.
What is the most frustrating part of trying to land roles in Hollywood? When I was starting out, it was frustrating not even getting the opportunity to read for certain roles. But now, the most frustrating part of trying to land roles is getting out of my own way. Life and bills happen, and sometimes, I can’t help but think about how booking the job can help with that. I forget that if I just relax, trust myself and enjoy the process, then all else will fall into place.
How do you handle rejection? Much better than I used to! I always say the hardest part wasn’t hearing “No” because that at least leads to closure. The hardest part is working so hard and investing so much time, energy and emotion, and hearing back nothing at all. And that’s usually how it goes. Over time, you accept it and realize there’s only so much within your control. So we do our best in the room, leave it there, and then move on to the next one… like Jay-Z.
Have there been times when you almost gave up? I never gave serious thought to giving up. Announcing to my family and friends that I was going to pursue a career in acting was big for me. There was never a Plan B, and I couldn’t face them and say, “I give up.” I’m competitive and being told that it would only happen in my dreams may or may not have also played a part in it.
Seriously though, I’ve cried, bled and broken a bone. And I’m pretty sure I’ve gone halfway crazy because of this career-choice. Except Pop-A-Shot (electronic basketball game). I’m really good at Pop-A-Shot.
Do you, as an actor of color, feel that opportunities for minority actors are improving or getting worse? And do you think that the inclusion rider (mentioned by Frances McDormand in her best actress acceptance speech in this year’s Oscars, which is added to an A-list actor’s contract to ensure that the casting and production meet certain levels of diversity) is helping? Absolutely. I feel that opportunities for minority actors are getting better. If you watch a ’90s TV show and then watch a TV show from today, you can’t truthfully tell me it’s not. As a Fil-Am actor myself, I won’t say we’re where we want to be, but I think we’re making good progress. There’s a lot of diverse talent out there building up their resumes and, eventually, they will get the recognition they deserve.
As for the inclusion rider, I can’t say I know for certain its effect just yet. But it can only help. Story is king, and as long as it’s told accurately, I’ll be happy. It’s when you show a group of friends in the ’90s set in New York City and there’s not one POC (people of color), that’s kind of unbelievable.
What’s your stand on whitewashing in Hollywood? I won’t lie. It doesn’t bug my friends and family so much. But for me, it hurts to see it. So much of what we do as actors is dependent on us being comfortable with who we are as people, as real-life, vulnerable human beings. So when I see it happen, it sometimes feels like my self-worth is being slapped in the face. Dramatic, I know. I’m an actor.
This is not a new thing though, and Hollywood is starting to take notice, so that’s good for everyone. We can focus on the problem, but that’d be too easy. I’m just glad that things are getting better, and solutions (such as the inclusion rider) are being talked about.
Tag: philippine daily inquirer
Jon Jon Briones, Ricky Martin and Édgar Ramírez on ‘Versace’ roles (part 2)
(Conclusion)
LOS ANGELES—In this part two of my column on “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” here’s more of Ricky Martin and Édgar Ramírez talking about their roles. The entire cast of the FX Networks’ production is getting enthusiastic reviews, including this one by critic Todd VanDerWerff of Vox:
“…As with any given (Ryan) Murphy production, the show’s cast is electrifying. Édgar Ramírez and Ricky Martin craft a deeply believable love for a lifetime in the handful of scenes they share together as Versace and his partner Antonio D’Amico, while Penélope Cruz might seem over the top as Donatella Versace, until you check out actual footage of the woman and realize the actress has absolutely nailed her performance.
“But it’s Darren Criss as Cunanan who leaves the biggest impression. Criss is best known as a dreamy song-and-dance man from ‘Glee,’ and his take on Cunanan is the very best kind of take on a dark character. He doesn’t want to create empathy for Cunanan so much as a kind of understanding. You are invited to think about him less as a person and more as an aberration, like some dark part of America’s worst self-made flesh. This is going to redefine Criss’ career, and it deserves to.”
Ricky Martin
The pop star, who recently announced his engagement to Jwan Yosef, a Syria-born, Sweden-raised artist (they held hands at the recent Golden Globes, where he, Penélope, Edgar and Darren were presenters), was also grateful that the story was filmed in chronological order, except for the series’ opening scene which shows that tragic day in 1997.
“Something that I’m thankful for was that my scenes were shot in chronological order,” Ricky pointed out. “I had a natural buildup. The first scene I shot was me walking down the stairs, going to pick up my racquet ball, because I’m going to play tennis and Gianni saying, ‘Ciao,’ and me saying, ‘Ciao bello.’
“All I needed to do was go back to those eyes and him saying goodbye, and I get emotional. I was really immersed in this.”
The 46-year-old shared more on D’Amico, who’s often referred to as Versace’s lover and nothing else. “Antonio was raw,” Ricky began. “His honesty was cutting. That was why Gianni was obsessed and so in love with him. Antonio would tell him, ‘I’m sorry you’re wrong. And that’s a horrible sketch, by the way.’ That is the relationship that they had, and that’s what Gianni needed.
“Gianni was surrounded by yes people. The only person who would tell him, ‘You’re wrong,’ was Antonio. I think Antonio would also ask Gianni, ‘Come on, go out, have fun and live. Life is short.’ That stimulated Gianni in many ways.
“Most of the experiences that dictated Gianni’s collection was because of how Antonio exposed him to a pretty tough, heavy, funky sexual hallucinogenic life. I was asking around what happened when people would come to Gianni to talk bad about Antonio. He would become a lion.
“There was a special connection between Gianni and Antonio. They just had to look at each other, and they knew what they both needed. Antonio was a bit of a caregiver. He was the one who’d give him his vitamins every morning. So, Gianni felt protected by Antonio.”
Édgar Ramírez
Édgar spoke about his different challenge when they shot the opening scene, which took days. “It was an interesting exercise of abandonment and trust because I spent days with my eyes closed, being handled by all the [actors playing] paramedics and witnessing the emotions that Ricky put into it,” said the Venezuelan actor.
“Gianni was declared dead roughly an hour after he was shot, so he might have been alive. He might have been listening to all the things that were going on around him, without being able to react because his body was shut down.
“I can’t fall asleep, but I had to be as quiet as possible. It was an exercise of trust.
“When we shot in LA, when they put me on the gurney for the first time and strapped me, I had like seven people around. I had a panic attack. My mind knew that it was fine, but my body was reacting to people talking.
On working with Darren, Édgar remarked, “Darren is great. I have never worked with him before. He has such a strong energy—he is a singer, musician, composer and a very fine actor. It’s interesting because we hardly encounter each other, but we share the same space many times. So we became closer personally on set. I’m very happy to be doing this with him. I know his work before from ‘Glee.’ ”
Édgar also discussed the dynamics between Gianni, Antonio and Donatella, as portrayed in the limited series. More than a week before “The Assassination…” premiered in the US on Jan. 17, the Versace family issued a statement blasting the series as a “work of fiction.”
“…The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace, which should only be considered as a work of fiction,” the statement read.
Despite this statement, Donatella recently sent flowers to Penélope, according to Ryan. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “Donatella Versace sent Penélope Cruz a very large arrangement of flowers when she was representing the show at the Golden Globes. I don’t know if she’s going to watch the show, but if she did, she’d see that we treat her and her family with respect and kindness, and she really is a feminist role model in my book because she had to step into an impossible situation, which she did with grace and understanding.”
Donatella was quoted by The New York Times in 1999 as saying, “My relationship with Antonio is exactly as it was when Gianni was alive. I respected him as the boyfriend of my brother, but I never liked him as a person. So the relationship stayed the same.”
For his part, Édgar was diplomatic in his comments: “That’s one of the most interesting interactions in the story. The house of Versace had everything to do with that relationship. At times, it feels like a Greek tragedy. Also, the way it’s written and told, it feels almost like ‘The Borgias.’ It has a very classic element, which has to do with the cultural component.
“Gianni and Donatella were very close. They completed each other in many aspects. The first woman Gianni ever made dresses for was his little sister. She was his muse in many ways and, at the same time, she was his wild side.
“She was like his presence out in the world. She’d go out and inform Gianni about what was going on. She was in tune with what was going on in society.
“The house of Versace is a result of their interaction together. Gianni was at the center, but it was a family business. It’s a very Italian and Latin thing to have a family business for generations, for better and for worse.
“Because there is no one that you can trust more than your family. At the same time, you’re talking about business, so it always gets complicated. It’s a very endearing, intense, high-voltage relationship. But, there was a lot of love. For Gianni, family was a priority, and it was very important.”
Jon Jon Briones, Ricky Martin and Édgar Ramírez on ‘Versace’ roles (part 2)
Jon Jon Briones, Ricky Martin and Edgar Ramirez on ‘Versace’ roles
(First of two parts)
LOS ANGELES—“‘Versace’ miniseries is the first great show of 2018,” New York Post critic Robert Rorke raved about FX Networks’ “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.” Rorke added, “The performances of the leads are outstanding, but special mention must be made of (Darren) Criss, who beautifully captures (Andrew) Cunanan’s ability to tell the biggest lies anyone has ever heard and literally charm the pants off anyone he sets his sights on.”
Rorke went so far as to say that Jon Jon Briones, who plays the Fil-Am Cunanan’s father, could be a “future Emmy winner.” Here’s from Rorke’s review: “And we get a ringside seat at the twisted Cunanan home in San Diego, where Andrew’s con-man father, Pete (future Emmy winner Jon Jon Briones), sold the family home from under his wife and four children before fleeing the country on an embezzlement charge.”
Praise for the entire cast is typified in Variety’s review by Sonia Saraiya: “ … An impeccable Penélope Cruz as Donatella Versace and a strong performance from singer Ricky Martin as Versace’s boyfriend Antonio D’Amico … (Edgar) Ramírez, Cruz and Martin are so compelling together … It’s worth noting that practically every performer in ‘American Crime Story’ is stunning … ”
“The Assassination … ” is creator Ryan Murphy’s Season 2 installment of his “American Crime Story” anthology series, which debuted with the critically lauded “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”
Based in part on “Vulgar Favors,” Maureen Orth’s intensively researched nonfiction bestseller on Cunanan’s crime spree, “The Assassination … ” tells the story in reverse. Ryan directed the premiere episode, which begins with Cunanan fatally shooting Versace (Edgar) in Miami in 1997.
Ryan then narrates backward, “Memento-style,” the journeys that Cunanan and the famous Italian designer went through before their tragic encounter on the marble steps in front of the latter’s mansion in South Beach. Other directors of the nine-episode series include actor Matt Bomer.
Jon Jon Briones
Jon Jon, in an e-mail from New York as he was busy packing on the day after his successful “Miss Saigon” run on Broadway ended, wrote, “I had a wonderful experience working on ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ with fantastic writing from Tom Rob Smith, inspiring direction by Matt Bomer (Episode 8) and Dan Minahan (Episode 9), with Matt, Ryan (Murphy), Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson (producers) giving their confidence in me. I felt very fortunate to be given this opportunity.”
It seems Jon Jon’s fellow Fil-Am, Darren, plus Ryan, Matt and Nina were so impressed with the Quezon City-born actor that they watched him as The Engineer when they were all in New York.
Jon Jon shared, “A couple of weeks before they saw ‘Miss Saigon,’ Brad Simpson wrote me an e-mail saying they were very happy with my finished episodes and that I will be very pleased when I see them. Brad also mentioned that everyone wanted to see me in ‘Miss Saigon.’
“A week or so later, I got text messages from Matt and Darren saying they’re all, including Ryan Murphy, coming to the show. I’ve never met Ryan before that. I was so excited to finally be in the same room with him. They came to a Saturday show, and they all loved it. I was humbled that they all came to see the show.”
In May last year, we visited the Miami set of “The Assassination …” which was filming in Casa Casuarina, Versace’s lavish villa where he was gunned down by Cunanan after his usual morning routine of buying coffee and magazines in a nearby restaurant. We wrote about our on-set interviews with Darren, Penelope and Ryan in previous columns.
In this column, we feature Ricky Martin and Edgar Ramirez, whom we interviewed in a room right beside the entrance to the mansion that continues to draw gawkers and tourists.
Ricky Martin
Ricky, who acted in a TV series in Latin America and in the US soap series, “General Hospital,” talked about how he prepared to portray real-life figure Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s longtime partner, who rushed to the front of the house when he heard the gunshots.
“The amount of research that we’ve done and, of course, by the production company and Ryan, has helped me so much,” the Puerto Rican singer-actor said. “Ryan tapped into the big story, what’s known and what’s not known. I feel confident that I’m going to do justice to what Antonio D’Amico went through. There’s a lot of highs and lows in this character … a lot of sadness.
“But at the same time, you have the love and connection between Antonio and Gianni that was magical—to be able to live for 15 years together, in an era where that relationship was forbidden in many aspects, that nothing stopped them is something that I definitely want to talk about.
“It’s a big challenge for me as an actor. The confidence that I got from spending years on Broadway was very important, but television is different. And to be able to maintain the pain for long hours is something that I’ve been dying to do for a long time.”
Ricky shared that shooting in the actual villa of Versace helped him as an actor. “It’s a luxury to be able to walk into a room that helps you to find your emotion. I don’t want to sound cheesy, but I’m being really honest when the first scenes that I shot here were when I actually found Versace dead in front of the house. I got here at 5 o’clock in the morning. I just started working on my emotions, but when I actually walked into that area, it hit me in my chest. I started crying hysterically. I swear I could feel it.
“I went with my gut, and it helped me so much to reach a level of sadness before I heard ‘Action!’ All I had to do was touch the walls, because it was so vibrant.”
(Conclusion on Sunday)
Jon Jon Briones, Ricky Martin and Edgar Ramirez on ‘Versace’ roles
Ryan Murphy on Andrew Cunanan, ‘Versace’ casting
LOS ANGELES—In person, Ryan Murphy is as engrossing as the shows he produces and directs, including the recent “Feud: Bette and Joan” and “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.”
Last May, we were in the late Gianni Versace’s lavish Miami mansion named Casa Casuarina. Ryan was shooting crucial scenes for FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” right where they happened, including the front steps where Fil-Am Andrew Cunanan (played by Darren Criss) shot Versace (Edgar Ramirez) to death.
Penelope Cruz (Donatella Versace) and Ricky Martin (Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s longtime boyfriend) complete the main cast of the series, which airs in early 2018.
Ryan, sitting in one of the rooms with ornately decorated walls and ceilings, dished fascinating details of this Spanish-style mansion, built in 1930 by an oil fortune heir and inspired by Alcázar de Colón, the home of Christopher Columbus’ son in the Dominican Republic.
“There are three levels of the house,” began the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning creator of “Glee,” “American Horror Story” and “Nip/Tuck.” “There are about 20 rooms. There’s the pool area where Versace would have his famous parties for Naomi Campbell, Madonna, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Elton John. There’s a room that was apparently Madonna’s favorite suite.”
For Ryan, who started as a journalist, there was no question they had to film in this house. “We bought out the house for two weeks. It was not inexpensive. The interesting thing about this house is that since the day Versace left us and died, nothing has changed except the furniture and the art. Some of it has actually been restored. We got permission.
Soul and sadness
“As soon as Versace was dead, Donatella came and took all of the art, his personal effects and all of that great stuff away. We spent a lot of time and money looking at photos and recreating the stuff that we could.
“I don’t think we could have done it if we weren’t allowed to shoot here, because this house is him. You can feel his soul and the sadness. The pool is just bats**t crazy, with the attention to detail.
“Every day, I’m finding rooms I didn’t know existed. Yesterday, we found a walk-in shower for eight people. So we had to shoot in there (laughs). There’s no place on earth like this house. It’s been a great gift to be here.”
The miniseries is still in production and is filming in other locations.
Excerpts from our talk:
Talk about why you cast Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez, Ricky Martin and Penelope Cruz. Whenever I do something like this (like “OJ”), I always have one person in mind. So, Darren was the obvious choice. I was friends with him. I wanted people to see something I saw—which was, he’s a great dramatic actor.
In the case of Edgar, he looks exactly like Versace. When we have the prosthetic and the wig, it’s amazing. Edgar has that grandiose gravity as a human being that Versace had. He was my only choice.
Ricky is so soulful and intimate. I’ve worked with him once before. Antonio, the boyfriend, was a tragic figure because he was with Versace for 15 years and loved him. When Versace was killed, he was thrown out of this palace. He had suicide attempts.
So, I met Ricky. At the end of the meeting, we both got teary because he didn’t tell me that he and Edgar were close friends. Edgar wanted Ricky to do this part so bad, but he was not going to tell him, “Do it.”
The thing about Donatella was a little trickier because I obviously adore Gaga. We briefly discussed it, but she was doing “A Star Is Born” with Bradley Cooper. I know Penelope because of Javier Bardem and “Eat Pray Love.” She said “yes” instantly.
In researching on the story, what did you learn about Andrew Cunanan? We had the book that we bought and optioned, “Vulgar Favors” (by Maureen Orth). Cunanan was a mystery in many ways. The things that I was fascinated about are the creator/destroyer idea of Cunanan, and that he and Versace had the same beginning.
They came from immigrant families, and wanted to be famous.
Tragic story
Cunanan was also a tragic story. He was lied to by his parents, specifically his father, who told him they were incredibly wealthy and were almost like royalty in the Philippines.
He was treated like a celebrity in his own family. Then, it was all taken away, and he was shattered by it.
There was also sexual abuse in his family that we could never verify. He also wanted fame and fortune so desperately that when he killed the first victim, that was probably in a fit of pique and rage, he decided, well, I’ll go to jail, so I want to be famous.
Taking the life of a famous person became his fame, which is also a very American story that we see time and again.
Also, the key to this show is when you have somebody like Cunanan, who’s thought of in many circles as a monster and the person who took away Gianni Versace from us, you also have to talk about his childhood. Something along the way made him snap.
What surprised you along the way? The most devastating thing that I learned, because the family doesn’t talk about it, was what was happening with Versace. He had HIV and almost died. At the time, there was no cocktail (AIDS combination treatment). It was a death sentence. But, miraculously, he got his health back.
[But,] Versace was snuffed out instantly with two bullets to the face. That was the really devastating thing to me.
Barbaric, awful
The other thing is the sadness of the victims, how the Lee Miglin (one of Cunanan’s victims) killing was so barbaric, cruel and awful. Miglin was a closeted gay man. He (Cunanan) dressed Miglin up as a woman, with women’s panties and a lot of sex toys around so that his family would find that and be humiliated.
It was a very difficult show to shoot. We spent two days shooting the assassination. I was very upset throughout the filming of that.
How did you structure the story? For this story, the first 15 minutes involve music—opera, no dialogue, and it’s Versace restored to health, and starting his day with his staff, then walking to the News Café, intercut with Cunanan stalking him. So it starts with Versace’s murder.
What we wanted to do was tell the story backwards. So, we end with the Cunanan figure as a young man, and Versace as a young man trying to make a stab of it as a designer.
The interesting thing about this show is that there’s only violence and murder in the first four or five episodes. The last episode, of course, is of Cunanan on the houseboat and making a decision to kill himself before they can arrest him.
Did you have any contact with the Versace family about the show? Donatella has been very kind and lovely. As a mother, she has been protective of her children. That was her only request, which she conveyed to me through Penelope—she really wanted to make sure that her kids weren’t portrayed onscreen and that there was nothing about them in the show.
Why Penélope Cruz hesitated to play Donatella Versace
LOS ANGELES—“What about Donatella? That was my first question—would she be happy with this?”
Penélope Cruz initially balked at playing Donatella Versace in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” because she has known the designer for many years.
What Ryan Murphy, who directs and produces the FX miniseries, told Penélope convinced the Oscar-winning actress to take on the role. Penélope, looking like a beautiful bride in a white floor-length dress by Burberry, with her hair swept up, talked to us about playing Donatella, who remarkably took over her brother Gianni’s fashion empire after he was killed by Andrew Cunanan.
From a teenage fan of Gianni who dreamed about wearing one of his creations someday, Penelope now has dresses designed for her by Donatella, with the fashion sketches bearing the actress’ face, no less. That was why Penelope hesitated at first to accept Ryan’s offer to play Donatella.
Now, the Spanish actress is deep into filming “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” with Edgar Ramirez (as Gianni), Darren Criss (Andrew Cunanan) and Ricky Martin (Antonio D’Amico, Gianni’s longtime boyfriend). We interviewed Penélope inside Versace’s former mansion in Miami where some of the crucial scenes were shot.
Excerpts from our chat:
Is it more intimidating to portray someone that you’re friends with? I don’t know if I’d say we are friends, but we have seen each other on different occasions, on and off, around the last 15 years. I worked very closely with the House of Versace. Every time I’ve been with Donatella and everybody who works with her, they’re some of the most generous people I have ever met.
I always liked Donatella. She’s a strong, affectionate, generous woman. When Ryan called me, I was very excited because I love Ryan. Everything he does is successful because he’s so good. Everybody who works with him loves him. I met him when he was working with Javier in “Eat Pray Love.”
When he called to say that he wanted me to play Donatella, I was completely shocked because I had no idea they were going to do this project. There were 20 seconds of silence, with my brain going like, would Donatella be happy with this?
I listened to what Ryan wanted to do. He said, I don’t think there has ever been a project that shows what a heroine this woman is because of everything she went through. When she had to face a situation she wasn’t prepared for, when everything happened with her brother, and she was going through pain and loss, she had to get strength from where she didn’t have it.
Everything that her brother created, she kept it going. I’m sure that was because she has so much love for him. But here she is, and the House of Versace is stronger than ever. It’s incredible what she has done.
Now that I know more details about their relationship, it’s a beautiful love story. They were brother and sister who were close to each other from when they were little kids. I want to do this with that passion, dedication and respect for the truth.
What do you think makes Donatella an admirable woman in these times? Donatella had to handle the pressure of managing the House of Versace and making major decisions at a time when she was going through so much grief and desperation. She lost one of the people she loved the most. That’s why I call her a heroine, because not everybody can handle that amount of pressure.
In the script, it’s very beautiful the way Donatella talks about the way Gianni created this House and how it started from a little store in Milan. It’s so emotional because she says she wants to continue what she had created with this man.
They created from nothing, and they were very poor. That’s where she gets the strength to continue, for him. Because in a way, he’s alive. What he created continues to be alive. She fought a lot for that.
You were 18 when the murder happened. I remember the day very well. I was studying in New York and starting to work in movies, but I was really there to keep working on my English. I was a huge fan of Versace. At the time, I didn’t know him or Donatella. He has always been one of my top three favorite designers…and Donatella, too.
I heard that news and couldn’t believe it. He was young and full of life. It was sad and horrible. This (show), at least in the way I’m experiencing it, is a dedication to him. He’s present in every corner (of this house).
What was your relationship to Versace? I knew every single piece from Versace when I was 15 (laughs). I was a big fan. I was thinking, maybe one day I’ll get to wear his [creations]. Now, when they make things for me, by Donatella, they put my face on the sketches.
How does the show portray Donatella’s relationship with Antonio? In the script, Donatella and Antonio don’t have the best relationship. I’m not going to give you too many details, but there’s tension there.
Ricky Martin mentioned reading a scene in which there’s “hate” between your character and Antonio. Not hate, but there was a big distrust. She wanted more from Antonio in terms of what he gave to her brother. But I wouldn’t say it was hate.
Can you talk about the hair and make-up process you have to undergo to play Donatella? I don’t wear prosthetics because in the ’90s, I don’t think Donatella had done any work. There are different wigs and colored lenses, because my eyes are brown. She has a little more green honey color.
The eyebrows are important, too. Her eyebrows are so white that you almost don’t see them. That changes the eyes a lot. It’s like a three-hour process. It’s the same as when I was playing Virginia Vallejo in Colombia, with the wigs and that much makeup.
Can you talk about the film you’re going to shoot after this, the untitled Asghar Farhadi project? At the end of August, we’ll start shooting in Madrid. I consider Asghar Farhadi a genius. That shoots for four months.
My character suffers so much. There’s a very important thing that happens to her. So I feel OK, then I’m dressed in a way that is very different, almost without makeup.
What else do you have coming up? We finished “Escobar.” They’re editing it now. We’re very happy with that. A load of tough scenes because imagine what goes on in that world. There has been a lot of movies that have the character of (late Colombian drug lord Pablo) Escobar in them. I’m not saying it’s better, but it’s different because you see the whole thing from the beginning.
“Escobar” is focused on his relationship with my character Virginia Vallejo, who was a journalist who trained him to talk to the people and educated him on how to connect with the press. Then, they started a relationship. When she wanted to get out, it was too late. I think the movie is going to be good.
Darren Criss talks about his most challenging role to date—playing Andrew Cunanan (Part 2)
(Conclusion)
I feel so strange,” admitted Darren Criss about being inside the Gianni Versace mansion in Miami one morning in May.
He plays Andrew Cunanan, who shot the designer twice in the head just outside this palatial house in July 1997, in FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
“I was telling someone about how weird it was to be in this room,” the Fil-Am singer-actor shared about filming the assassination scene a few days earlier. “I was dressed as Andrew Cunanan, in the outfit that he murdered Versace in, and I was inside. I was walking around and I was taking pictures. I took a picture of the pool, and I saw myself. I was like, oh my God, I’ve got to delete this photo. It’s horrible, how irreverent, because Andrew never made it inside.”
In this part two of our column on Darren, we continue our talk about his biggest and most challenging role to date.
Excerpts:
What did you learn about Cunanan that informed your performance? The thing that we want to show in this is that we have two brilliant minds—we have Versace, the creator, and the destroyer (Cunanan). A lot of people who knew Andrew in his younger life described him as a promising, brilliant and charming young man. You go, what happened? It doesn’t follow the same blueprint of that of many serial killers, the Dahmers and the Mansons of the world. They’re off the rails from the get-go.
Whereas Andrew, it was heartbreaking for a lot of people who knew him because we show some of his friends in the series. Andrew was the godfather of the children of a friend from high school who was mortified to hear that this had happened. Because he was this caring friend and godfather.
So, he was not just an abomination. Yeah. That isn’t only on my shoulders, but in the order that we tell the story, without giving away too much. The structure of the show goes in such a way that we get to see Andrew at his worst and his absolute best. Then, it’s up to you to juxtapose those against each other.
How do you tell a story where the moral compass is clearly fixed? We can all agree this is a horrible thing. Versace was murdered on the steps of his house. We’re in this house. The first day I came in here, I got emotional thinking about it. Versace is here, the man is still alive in this house, everywhere. Coming in, seeing this and being a part of it, you go, wow, this man had everything that the man who killed him couldn’t have and wanted so badly.
I get very sad when I think of somebody like Andrew. We’ve all had these dreams of doing something great. That’s something we can relate to. It’s that sense of wanting something so bad and just being misdirected on how to get it.
Following up on that, Asian immigrant families, including Filipinos, are known to be model immigrants. What do you think about him or his family that contributed to his downfall? I don’t have any credentials in psychology and child development but, to me, after diving into what his background is, it seems a pretty textbook case, as far as what happened later in his life.
As a young man, Cunanan came from a very poor family and in one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Diego. His mother was mentally unstable, was very difficult to deal with. I don’t know what she had, but she self-medicated—a very tough situation.
His father, on the other hand, was a crook. He was embezzling people out of thousands of dollars. It was a loveless marriage, but they adored and spoiled this little boy. They gave him their master bedroom as he grew up. He was raised with this sense of entitlement from a very early age. That’s very dangerous as you get out in the world.
Narcissism involves people who think they’re pretty, but it’s more than that. It’s a psychological belief that if you believe something about yourself, it is true.
In that sense, Andrew believed that if he could say something about himself, then that’s true. And if he deserves something, he didn’t have to work for it. So, the decisions he made before the murders were unintentionally implanted by his parents. His father was caught. He sold the house and had to eventually flee to the Philippines.
This was where Andrew switched gears. He went to see his father [in the Philippines]. At this point in his life, Andrew has told a lot of lies about himself. He sometimes would totally discount his Filipino heritage. He would say he was Jewish, or that his father’s an Israeli pilot.
He went to the Philippines believing in this façade that his father was this rich pineapple plantation owner. He saw this man living in relative squalor. I think when he saw his father being everything he wasn’t, and against everything that he ever wanted, that was a point where most of us would learn from that and go, OK, you know what? I can change from this. I don’t want to be like this. I want to work hard for things.
Instead, he came back to the United States. For the rest of his life, he would make up stories. He’d blow up his own image of himself that would lead him to these grandiose acts of murder. Thinking that he’s above the law and above [the laws of] morality, because he doesn’t have to deal with the things that are real in his life.
What insights did you learn about Cunanan’s homophobia? What’s fascinating to me? This is a wonderful extension of where we all are. Not once in my entire time that I’ve been involved with this has anybody ever brought up the fact that he was gay.
I think mainly because it was eclipsed by the fact that he was a serial killer. That seems to be at the forefront of facts that people stick to. But, he was gay. I don’t think there was a homophobic bent to his series of murders. I think his homosexuality did lend him to certain scenes that he got to be a part of.
The people he dealt with and ultimately ended up murdering were people he had met through different underworlds of the gay scene in San Diego and Minneapolis. He had self-hatred. I think there were other feelings of ineptitude and being not good enough that really drove him. I don’t know how much of that had to do with him being gay. But that is a big part of our story.
It was the largest failed manhunt in FBI history. That seems like a big f***ing deal. A lot of people didn’t know about it. You have to scratch your head and you go, “Wait, so this guy killed how many people before Versace? How was he not caught?” He was on America’s most wanted list. Then, you start realizing, there’s a lot of fear and anxiety in law enforcement. And this is right after the worst part of the AIDS crisis in the mid-’90s.
You have a lot of this other stuff that’s happening that does lend itself to how this guy got away with it. That is important to mention. One thing I’ll say about “American Crime Story” that I’m truly proud to be a part of is the fact that, to me, “OJ,” the series, wasn’t just about OJ.
So, for our story yes, it’s about the horrible murder of an icon. And it’s about the journey and the downfall of the person who did it. But it’s also about everything that’s happening around—and how that echoes what we fear and deal with now
Darren Criss talks about his most challenging role to date—playing Andrew Cunanan (Part 2)
Darren Criss talks about his most challenging role to date—playing Andrew Cunanan
LOS ANGELES—In a room inside the Versace mansion in Miami, just a few steps from where Andrew Cunanan fatally shot the designer, Darren Criss was told that Ryan Murphy, who cast him in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” paid him the supreme compliment.
Hearing that the award-winning executive producer-director cast him as Cunanan because he always knew there was a great dramatic actor in him, Darren gave a fittingly serious answer. Playing the serial killer, who murdered at least five people, is a big shift for Darren, who first worked with Ryan as Blaine Anderson in the musical TV series, “Glee.”
“Oh, how far we’ve come,” Darren quipped with a laugh. He has taken off his gray suit jacket. “Miami heat is getting to my head,” he explained.
We were in a room with walls gilded with mosaic tile work and stained glass windows, typical of the designer’s lavish home.
Like Cunanan, Darren is Filipino-American. The actor— the son of a Cebuana, Cerina (nee Bru), and Charles William Criss from Pennsylvania— noted his eerie resemblance to Cunanan. The latter’s mom (Mary Anne Schillaci) is Italian-American, while his dad, Modesto Cunanan, is Filipino.
For the actor who starred on Broadway in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” this role represents his biggest and most dramatic challenge yet.
Ryan, on a career high with his “Feud: Bette and Joan” and “The People v. OJ Simpson,” picked a fine cast to join Darren: Edgar Ramirez (Versace), Penelope Cruz (Donatella Versace) and Ricky Martin (Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s longtime lover).
The FX miniseries, which continues to shoot, debuts in early 2018.
Excerpts from our interview:
Ryan Murphy said he always knew there was a great dramatic actor in you, and he wanted people to see that in this show. How scary or daunting is that for you? Actors are only as good as the parts they get to play. It’s a passive art form. People will hate me for saying that because obviously, when you’re doing it, it isn’t passive. But if I’m a musician, I can pick up my guitar and play it. If there was no one in this room, I can still play my guitar. I can proactively be a musician.
I always say the best actors in the world, we’ll probably never know about. We’ll never get to see that guy do “King Lear,” that woman do “Hedda Gabler.” You have to wait for those moments.
This is a moment for me, and I recognize that. I do feel like my ship came in for this one. “Glee” was a big hit before I was on it. I had a very objective relationship with it. I was in college when it was all over the place. So, to suddenly be thrust on it was a strange but very wonderful experience.
It brings me here for which I’m unfathomably grateful. But I studied acting. I treat acting like a real craft as much as you love to roll your eyes at that little word. But it’s true. There’s no sense of entitlement. But I worked hard. I believe in doing the necessary steps to get to a certain place.
So, to be finally be given this opportunity, I feel prepared. Whether or not it’s good is a whole other story. It could be horrible, crash and burn. But it’s like that—give me the ball, coach. And Ryan certainly gave me a good throw. So I’m very excited about that.
You were 10 when Versace was killed. At what point in your life did you know about him? I knew Versace was killed in front of his home. I’d been here before, the first time I went to Miami. I remember looking it up, seeing the steps. This is so eerie. I vaguely remembered that he was half-Filipino. If there’s any half-Filipino in the media, you tend to pay attention to it.
I had, through the fabulous world of “Glee,” met Donatella. I had been to Versace’s home in Milan. But, that was about as far as a connection that I had.
Can you talk about filming the crucial assassination scene? It was gruesome. Because we were not shooting this in a sound studio in Los Angeles. This is the house—and people walking around here were there for that. We couldn’t hide it. It was in broad daylight. So, to feel that energy of this very real event, it weighed heavily on me.
When I shot it, I was thrilled because Edgar wasn’t here for that. If I had to look in Edgar’s eyes and do something like that, that would have been tough, because it weighs on your conscience.
But, as an actor, when you’re doing something like that, I’m not thinking of my conscience. As far as I’m concerned, I’m the hero in this story. That’s how I have to play it. There’s a certain longing, loss, confusion, hurt and just a f**kload of pain that is coming into an act like that.
That’s what you have to channel. It helps that we’re in paradise because we do this really gruesome stuff, then I can go home and have a cocktail on the beach. It’s like, “All right, real life is OK.”
Can you clarify why you didn’t film that scene with Edgar around? Only because that had to do more with the technical aspects. It’s highly technical, but the biggest meat of the shot was of me making the decision [to kill Versace] and going up [to him]. It’s giving a little bit away. So now, you know about that shot. Sorry, Ryan.
How did you research on Andrew Cunanan? The series is mainly based on the book of Maureen Orth, who’s an extraordinary journalist and did mind-bending work and collection of data from friends, family and all records available.
What’s interesting about this particular case is, as famous as Versace is, there’s not a whole lot of stuff [about it]. There’s only one book, at least one that’s pretty serious. The others are trashy pulp novels.
There are three different versions of Andrew that I have to deal with. There’s the real version that none of us knew. There is the version that people did know, then there’s the version that we’re telling.
As an actor, I can contact the family members or friends, but they’re all going to have different answers of who he was. My job is to serve the script. As much as I want to stay true to who Cunanan was, we really don’t know what kind of person he was. We just have to humanize him as much as possible and hope for the best.
(Conclusion tomorrow)
Darren Criss talks about his most challenging role to date—playing Andrew Cunanan
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