Darren Criss and Wife Mia Visit Hollywood Billboards for Black-Tie Date to Celebrate Release (original) (raw)

Darren Criss is celebrating the release of his new Netflix show in style.

On Friday, the Glee alum and his wife Mia Swier enjoyed their own "little premiere party" for the launch of Hollywood as the cast was unable to have an in-person celebration due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

To commemorate the special day, Criss and Swier both dressed in black-tie attire and took pictures in front of various Hollywood billboards — all while keeping protective masks on their faces.

"What, you didn't think we'd have our own little premiere party? This is HOLLYWOOD, darling," Criss, 33, captioned his post, which included two slow-motion videos of the couple in front of the signs, seemingly filmed with a drone.

For their night on the town, Criss looked dapper in a black textured tuxedo and dark sunglasses while Swier wore a long floral dress with a fuzzy pink shoulder wrap, elbow-length white gloves and heart-eye shaped sunglasses.

The Emmy-winning actor also documented their adventure on his Instagram Story.

"Just driving down Hollywood Boulevard, the famous place where the stars are born. It's premiere night, streaming now on Netflix," Criss teased, sharing that he and his wife decided to "get Hollyweird."

"Oh yes, we HollyWOULD," the star wrote across one picture of the couple standing in front of a Hollywood sign.

Darren Criss/Instagram

"I mask you again," Criss wrote next to another Hollywood sign reading, "what if you could rewrite the story?"

"Catch us @ this siqqq afterparty like," the American Crime Story actor captioned a final photo of the couple together.

Those behind the show were quick to comment on the couple's innovative party. "Whoops crying again," commented the Hollywood Instagram account.

Darren Criss/Instagram

"The innovation, the style, the glamor, the angles! 👏👏👏," the official Netflix account wrote.

Criss plays a director in the Ryan Murphy miniseries Hollywood, which reimagines the golden era of movie-making as a far more accepting place for Asian, African American, and gay actors.

“Everybody relates to adversity. Everybody wants to root for the underdog,” he told PEOPLE, is why he loves his job. “Performance at its core is to have the audience see itself in a different way. Hopefully, for the better. That is sometimes lost in the category of ‘entertainment.’ "

Hollywood takes place in the 1940s but the subject matter is very present-day for Criss. One of his first lines on the show is so simple. “I’m half-Filipino,” he says. It’s true of Criss’ character and of Criss. He knows that for much of his career, he has been seen as “conventionally Caucasian.”

“I’ve been half-Filipino my whole life,” said Criss, whose mother was born in Cebu City in the Philippines. “But no one ever asked about it. It’s tough, this idea of ‘white passing.’ It’s not even a term I heard of until the past two years. When people have a say in who you are — people you don’t even know — it makes you rethink what your balance is. Something you’ve had down your whole life.”

“It’s a tricky cocktail in America,” Criss added. “Anyone who is biracial can attest to this: No matter how much or how little they look like their respective mix, it’s a constant work in progress.”

Hollywood is available to stream now on Netflix.

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