Darren Criss Details His GLEE Character's Applause-Worthy Quirks

GLEE breakout star and Broadway headliner Darren Criss opens up about the finer points of his character of the hit FOX musical dramedy series as part of an ongoing social media fan Q&A.

Asked to share specifics about the somewhat unusual way in which his character on GLEE, Blaine, claps while appearing on the series, Criss shares a detailed description of the thought and effort put into even the seemingly innocuous background character quirks imbued into his performance on the show.

Criss writes, "That's a really great question. I do a lot of stupid stuff in character that I don't think anyone ever notices, or even NEEDS to notice for that matter-so the fact you DID notice opens up a mini pandora's box of a response. I'm very careful to do certain things as Blaine. And since I started doing said things almost four years ago, I've been very careful to maintain all of them ever since... like sticking to certain mannerisms in certain situations, keeping certain facial expressions, and, yeah, clapping in a particular way. It's just kinda one of those silly actor things that despite itself, whether successful or not, has helped me stay in character."

Additionally, Criss shares, "This one time I was watching an episode at home, I caught a quick shot of Blaine NOT clapping "a la Blaine" ... and I was so mad at myself! I didn't understand how that could've possibly happened. And I wondered if anyone would notice and call me out. I realized it must have been from ONE take I thought the camera WASN'T covering me, and so I was out of character. But that's all it takes. One take. I was so upset. Big lesson there: sometimes you can never really know when the camera is on you and more importantly- you have no control over what is gonna make it into the final cut... So the lesson is painfully plain & simple- from "action" to "cut," always be in character. Like, DUHHH right? Rookie mistake! Sigh, it's not like that shot is solidified in TV Land forever or anything... oh wait. Dammit."

Check out the original post here.

GLEE airs Tuesdays at 8 PM on FOX.