There are lots of winners from Tuesday’s announcement that Netflix had lured hit TV producer Ryan Murphy away from 21st Century Fox.
The biggest, obviously, is Murphy himself. The deal means as much as $300 million over five years for the 52-year-old, according to The New York Times, which broke the story.
Netflix comes in a close second. With Amazon, Apple, HBO and Hulu all throwing around ridiculous amounts of money to secure original content, the streaming giant keeps winning battles. Murphy is the second big name signed in just over six months, after landing Shonda Rhimes with a four-year, $100 million deal in August.
Famous for TV hits ranging from “Glee” to “American Horror Story” to “American Crime Story” and “Feud,” here are a few actors that, thanks to Murphy’s shows, have become household names.
Lea Michele
The Bronx native was 23 years old and a Drama Desk Award nominee when she landed the role of Rachel Berry on “Glee” in late 2008, for which she landed a pair of Golden Globe nominations. After “Glee” ended, she reteamed with Murphy for “Scream Queens.” Her Broadway credits include “Spring Awakening” where she worked alongside future “Glee” guest star Jonathan Groff.
Sterling K. Brown
With roles in “This Is Us” and “Black Panther,” the Tisch graduate is riding high lately. He also played Christopher Darden in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” Before the current string of high profile roles, Brown had a handful of episodes on nearly 20 shows over the years, as well as seven seasons on Lifetime’s “Army Wives” from 2007-2013.
Darren Criss
The 31-year-old is somewhat of a go-to for Murphy, having been cast as Blaine Anderson in “Glee,” as well as appearing in “American Horror Story” and currently on “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” now airing on FX.
Melissa Benoist
The star of “Supergirl” got her career off to a flying start as Marley on “Glee.” She can now also be seen in the miniseries “Waco” on the Paramount Network.
Grant Gustin
Before he was Barry Allen, aka TV’s “The Flash,” Gustin was Sebastian Smythe on “Glee” for two seasons. Before that he was on the touring cast of the 2010 revival of “West Side Story” as Jet Baby John.
