Darren Criss Mourns the Loss of His Older Brother, Charles Criss

Charles Criss, older brother of actor Darren Criss, has died.

The actor shared the news on his social media today. According to Criss' statement, his brother died by suicide.

Criss reflected on Charles' life in an essay posted to Instagram, writing, "Obviously this is a colossal shock. His loss leaves behind a debilitating fracture in the lives of his mother, his brother, his three small children, and their respective mothers. I have spent what feels like a small eternity trying to wrap my head around it, something I suspect I'll be attempting to do for the rest of my life."

He continued, "I loved my brother so much. And I know he loved me. Right out of the womb, he was my instant, ready-made best friend. And from that moment on, we absolutely loved being together. 'Charles & Darren' were an inseparable, dynamic duo. We shared nearly everything and looked out for each other."

"As an artist, he possessed a raw, inimitable talent that never ceased to inspire me. A distinct voice and songwriting style that I greatly admired for its singularity and sincerity," he continued. "His impressive skills as a musician mixed with his poetic observation of the world yielded a prolific amount of music that was endlessly unique, clever, fun, intriguing and beautiful to me ... A fitting metaphor for his very soul."

Of the condition that led to his brother's death, Criss wrote, "The last several years were increasingly difficult for Chuck as he struggled to find stability during an unfortunate rough patch in his life. Despite our very vocal concerns about his well-being, and his protestations that everything was fine, it's crushing to say now that Chuck clearly had a severe depression welling up in him for some time...A depression that was only worsened by a lifelong struggle he had with expressing his feelings - a dangerous combination only outmatched by his all-too-incredible ability to conceal it. Not just from the world at large, but most tragically, from the people who were closest to him."

Darren Criss is an acclaimed actor whose credits include the titular role of Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, Criss starred as serial killer Andrew Cunanan in Ryan Murphy's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story in 2018, a widely celebrated turn that earned him a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics' Choice Award. Through the years he's also written songs for the comedy musical Royalties, co-wrote "Starting Now" for Disney which was performed by Brandy, headlined the iHeartRadio Music Festival with Steve Aoki, and in August 2021 delivered his EP Masquerade, a collection he describes as character-driven singles.