Darren Criss put his “Glee” image behind him this year when he portrayed serial killer Andrew Cunanan in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
The role netted Criss some of the best reviews of his career. For many fans, however, one highlight was getting to see the star bare (almost) all in a number of the show’s steamy episodes.
When Criss dropped by “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Thursday to chat about his role, he told the talk-show host that “American Crime Story” helped make him comfortable with disrobing onscreen.
“Well, now I don’t,” he said, when asked if he had a problem with appearing naked on film. “I did this right out of ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch,’ which was a [Broadway] show that I did which required me to be in pretty good physical shape, so I lucked out.”
After the camera cut to an oversized screenshot of his derrière, Criss quipped, “I baked those myself!”
Later in the interview, Criss expressed an interest in hosting “SNL.” As a sort of pre-audition, he showed off some surprising accents and impressions during a game of “Head’s Up” with DeGeneres.
From the sounds of it, former President Barack Obama and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda had better watch their backs.