SOURCETémoignage en anglais je traduit si j'ai le temps ce soir...
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Darren Criss came to my school today…
Let it be marked here and now that today, January 19th, 2012, is, was, and will forever be, the greatest day of my life. Today, Darren Criss came to my performing arts high school in NYC and talked to the junior and senior drama majors (of which I am one). It was the most incredible experience ever. There are no words. Except for all the ones I’m about to use!
Now for the full story…
One of my drama teachers, Mr. Smith, is a retired agent who has tons of industry connections. I mentioned back in late September that I was going to go to the S.P.A.C.E. tour and was going to meet Darren Criss at the Meet & Greet before the show. It was then that I found out that Mr. Smith and Darren were actually good friends who met back when AVPM was first released. They’ve kept in touch ever since, and he mentioned that he was hoping to have Darren come in and talk to us when he was in NYC for H2$. I totally freaked and told Mr. Smith he definitely had to pursue that. As luck would have it, he was able to get a hold of Darren, who agreed to come in today for a Q & A/Interview.
It was amazing. Not only was Darren incredibly adorable and hysterical, he also spoke very candidly about the business and shared some information that even I hadn’t known. I have an audio recording of the whole thing so I’ll definitely be posting some more tidbits after I listen to it again, but here are some things that definitely stuck out to me:
-“The best inspiration comes when you are completely appalled.” He was talking about seeing really crappy films or actors and using that to fuel your own passion to be better and stronger.
-He talked a lot about rising to fame so quickly and suddenly and how there’s no “right” path to take when entering the business, and there’s no exact formula for how to go about getting jobs and getting any kind of traction. He said it’s really a combination of luck, preparedness, kindness and generosity. And talent, of course! He said “Hope for everything, but expect nothing.”
-He talked about how he always tries to stay focused and be vocal about what he wants. He said a lot of actors tend to get “led” by their agents/managers/whatever, and don’t really speak for themselves, and that that is really unfortunate. He talked a lot about how grateful he’s been for the opportunities he’s had and that he’s really just glad to be working.
-He said he absolutely hates having to be driven around in an Escalade, but that it’s required by the NYPD. He was like “It’s basically like riding around with a big sign that says ‘I’m a douchebag!’”
-He also mentioned that he finally met Daniel Radcliffe a few days ago! Yayyy!
As for my personal experience, it was incredible. Everyone in the department knew I loved him and how excited I was that he was coming. So I ran downstairs to try and get a front row seat in the theater, only to find that my friends had already saved me a seat front and center! When Darren walked by one of my friends said “Oh, this is Nadia. She’s a die hard fan!” I got super embarrassed, but he turned to me and said “I love the Die Hard movies!” like the adorable guy that he is. After the Q & A I went up to him in the hopes that I would be able to get a picture, but when one of my other friends asked he said he probably wouldn’t be able to just because it would take up too much time and he might not be able to do it for everyone. So I just settled on getting to talk to him! Next thing I know he turned to me and said “I recognize you! I remember you! You were at the S.P.A.C.E. concert!” I literally died. I just nodded and he said “Thank you so much! I’m gonna hug you now!” And he DID. It was wonderful. Then we had a little inside joke moment about Zac Effron (because I had brought a Zefron poster to the Meet & Greet), and he tried to explain the joke to the people around us, who weren’t really getting it. Then, by some magical twist of fate he agreed to take a couple pictures, and immediately my friend who had originally asked said “Let Nadia take one first!” And he said “Of course I’ll take one with Nadia!” We put our arms around each other and then I kind of awkwardly put my other hand around him to hug him and next thing I know he’s hugging me back and everyone is going “Awww!” and applauding. Here’s the result:
We talked a little bit longer after that and it turns out he has a friend who is a series regular on a TV show that I was a guest star on in November. So we talked about that show for a little bit, and then he took a few other pictures and left. Right after he did, I literally burst into tears. I have never felt that ecstatic in my life. It was like this amazing dream finally coming true. And it’s something I’ll be able to remember forever.
Anyways, sorry this is really long, but hopefully (if there’s anyone still reading) you enjoyed it! I definitely have more fun facts to share about the day/more things he said, so as they come to me I’ll continue to post them. This has without a doubt been the best day of my life. I could cry. Again.