Jessica Lange has revealed what tempted her to return to American Horror Story.
The legendary actress (and forever gay icon) was the lifeblood of the first four seasons of the hit anthology series American Horror Story, playing some of the show’s most iconic characters including Sister Jude in Asylum and Fiona Goode in Coven.
Fans were devastated when Jessica left the show – seemingly forever – after the fourth season, and while actors Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters (and even Lady Gaga) stepped up to major roles in the following seasons, there was always something missing.
Last year that all changed, as Jessica made a surprise return to the eighth season, Apocalypse, as Constance Langdon, the meddling neighbour from the show’s first season Murder House. So how did creator Ryan Murphy convince her to come back?
“It was like all conversations with Ryan. He is extremely… Can I use the word seductive? He knows exactly what to say to whom. I think he knows me so well by now that he hits all the key phrases right off the bat,” she told The Wrap.
“So, for instance, he’s talking about the relationship with the children and a 10-page monologue, the drunkenness and the death. He hits all the scenes that would make it interesting for me to come back to play this character.
“And he usually catches me when I’m sitting out here in the middle of nowhere, doing nothing and I think, ‘Oh, yeah, maybe I should work. Maybe I shouldn’t quit quite yet.’ That’s how it happens. He knows what I like to do and what appeals to me as an actor to play.”
Jessica’s return to the show saw her share scenes with newcomer Cody Fern – who plays her on-screen, anti-Christ grandson Michael – and act out Constance’s suicide in a flashback. It’s a scene that will go down in American Horror Story history.
“To play a part like that, to play a scene like that, I find deliriously fun because it’s total abandon. There’s no reason, there’s no logic. It’s just about the physical and emotional,” Jessica continued.
“So the idea that she is basically OD’ing and having these — are they visions, her children come to see her? It was my favorite scene to shoot, because there is a physical abandon to it that I always like to investigate.”
You can find out everything you need to know about American Horror Story: 1984 here.
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