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Chris Colfer is giving Darren Criss his flowers.
The actor and author sang his former Glee costar’s praises following Criss’ big Tony Awards win in a conversation with PEOPLE on Thursday, June 12, during the opening night of Jean Smart’s one-woman Broadway play Call Me Izzy at Studio 54 in New York City.
“[I’m] very proud. Very, very proud,” says Colfer, 35, who formed one half of “Klaine” as Kurt Hummel, opposite Criss’ Blaine Anderson, on Glee. Their characters dated and eventually married on the musical teen dramedy series that ran on Fox for six seasons, from 2009 to 2015.
Of the role Criss, 38, plays in Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway — which nabbed him the Best Actor in a Musical trophy at the Tonys on Sunday, June 8 — Colfer says, “He’s incredible in the show.”
“The show’s so good, and I’m so glad he won because the party was that much more fun afterwards,” he adds.
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Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Criss won the Tony for his role as Oliver in Maybe Happy Ending, beating Andrew Durand for Dead Outlaw, Tom Francis for Sunset Blvd., fellow Glee alum Jonathan Groff for Just in Time, James Monroe Iglehart for A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical and Jeremy Jordan for Floyd Collins.
After taking the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Criss quipped in his acceptance speech, “A lot of humans got me here,” in reference to the robot character he plays in the show.
The actor dedicated his win to wife Mia, with whom he shares daughter Bluesy, 3, and son Brother, 2.
“The real hero about this for this remarkable journey is my wife, Mia, who took a massive swing on allowing me to do this,” Criss said in his speech. “To allow this crazy upheaval in our life, to make this logistically possible, and for bearing the brunt of raising two tiny friends under three, so that I could raise a singing robot at the Belasco Theatre eight times a week.”
Spinning the wheel of his Tony statuette, he smiled, adding, “You’re the very pedestal that upholds the shiny spinny bit in our lives, and your love and your support for me and our beautiful children, combined with the miracle of working on something as magical as Maybe Happy Ending, has been and will always be award enough.”
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Speaking with PEOPLE on Thursday, Colfer reflected on Glee’s legacy, and how one memory he will never forget is “meeting all the amazing guest stars” that appeared on the show.
“I’m still friends with a lot of them. And that was by far the greatest part of the experience, was meeting living legends,” he says.
Some of those he still keeps in touch with the most? “Carol Burnett, Shirley MacLaine,” Colfer says. “June Squibb is one of my best friends in the whole world; just saw her a few nights ago. Kristin Chenoweth, adore.”
“We were so blessed to have all that talent on the show,” he adds.
