Sadly, no one will achieve EGOT by winning a Grammy in 2026. There are currently 10 living performers who are a Grammy away from completing the grand slam (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and none of them received noms this year. But there is an actor who could get one step closer to the crowning achievement of show business awards: Darren Criss.
The 38-year-old performer is already halfway there. The first industry accolade he received was the Emmy. He won Best Movie/Limited Actor in 2018 for his performance as real-life spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which was the second season of the American Crime Story anthology series. That was a historic victory as it made Criss the first person of Filipino descent to win the award. And it was just the beginning as he would follow that victory with triumphs at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and SAG Awards a few months later.
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Next for Criss was the Tony. He claimed Best Actor in a Musical in 2025 for his performance as love-struck helper robot Oliver in Maybe Happy Ending. That was also a historic moment as it was the first victory in that category for an Asian actor. He capped off the night by winning Best Musical as a coproducer of the same show.
Darren Criss at 2025 TonysJohn Nacion/Penske Media
Two industry awards down, two to go.
Now Criss has the opportunity to get three-quarters of the way to EGOT. On Friday, he received his first ever Grammy nomination: Best Musical Theater Album for the Maybe Happy Ending cast recording. He shares that bid with fellow principal vocalists Marcus Choi, Dez Duron, and Helen J Shen, as well as lyricist Hue Park, composer and lyricist Will Aronson, and producers Deborah Abramson and Ian Kagey. If the show prevails as it did at the Tonys, Criss will only need an Oscar to finish his EGOT.
Easier said than done. Though winning the Tony for Best Musical denotes significant industry esteem for the project, it’s not a foolproof path towards Grammy glory. The last four Tony champs for Best Musical actually lost the Grammy for their cast recordings. The Outsiders (2024) lost the Grammy to Hell’s Kitchen. Kimberly Akimbo (2023) lost the Grammy to Some Like It Hot. A Strange Loop (2022) lost the Grammy to Into the Woods. And Moulin Rouge! (2021) lost the Grammy to Hadestown, which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2019, marking the last time the Tony winner in that category lined up with the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
One reason for the disparity is that the Grammys often reward cast recordings that are related to music industry stalwarts even if they didn’t win the top Tony. Consider that Hell’s Kitchen featured the music of 17-time Grammy champion Alicia Keys, and that the Grammy victory for Into the Woods came a little more than a year following the death of beloved composer Stephen Sondheim. Before that, Grammys went to the cast recordings of Jagged Little Pill (featuring the music of Alanis Morissette), Beautiful (featuring the music of Carole King), American Idiot (featuring the music of Green Day), and Aida (composed by Elton John and Tim Rice).
So Maybe Happy Ending will need to watch out for its rival Grammy nominees, particularly Buena Vista Social Club (featuring the music of the titular musical group), Gypsy (another Sondheim joint), and Just in Time (featuring the music of Bobby Darin sung by Hamilton Grammy winner Jonathan Groff). And don’t rule out Death Becomes Her, whose principal vocalists include Destiny’s Child Grammy winner Michelle Williams.
Winning a Grammy would add Criss to the list of 28 individuals who need an Oscar to complete their EGOT: Andre De Shields, Cynthia Erivo, Anne Garefino, Hugh Jackman, Rachel Bay Jones, John Kander, Tom Kitt, Alex Lacamoire, Stan Lathan, Cyndi Lauper, Katrina Lenk, Frank Marshall, Audra McDonald, Bette Midler, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Cynthia Nixon, Trey Parker, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Scott Sanders, Marc Shaiman, Bill Sherman, Ari’el Stachel, Matt Stone, Lily Tomlin, Dick Van Dyke, Scott Wittman, and David Yazbeck. That list may be as long as it is because of what an exclusive club the Oscars are, with fewer available categories than any of the other EGOT awards. Many artists, therefore, get stuck waiting for this particular milestone.
To date, 21 people have achieved EGOT throughout their careers (in chronological order of achievement): Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Whoopi Goldberg, Scott Rudin, Robert Lopez, John Legend, Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alan Menken, Jennifer Hudson, Viola Davis, Elton John, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. If Criss is the next to add his name to that list, he would be the first Asian individual to hold that distinction.
Check out the complete list of Grammy nominees.
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