Hedwig's Darren Criss Will Headline Oscar Winner Barry Morrow's Smitten! Movie

Just try and tear him down! Two-time Broadway.com Audience Choice Award winner Darren Criss may be departing Hedwig and the Angry Inch on July 19, but he already has his next gig lined up. The former Glee star, who recently received an Emmy nod for his original song on the series, will headline new movie Smitten!. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the romantic comedy, from Oscar winner Barry Morrow (Rain Man), will start shooting on July 20 in Italy.

Criss will play a fashion executive who gets kidnapped by inept mafia members and they end up in the alpine mountains. The film will also star Madalina Ghenea and Angela Molina.

Perhaps best known for playing Blaine on the Fox series Glee, Criss made his Great White Way debut in 2012 as J. Pierpont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a role that earned him a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite Replacement (he also picked up the same trophy this year for Hedwig). His additional film and TV credits include Girl Most Likely, Eastwick and Little White Lie. In 2010, he released his first EP of original music, titled Human. He can occasionally be found at Marie’s Crisis belting Disney standards with Tony winner Lea Salonga.

Taye Diggs will begin performances as our favorite internationally ignored song stylist from July 22 at the Belasco Theatre.