American Horror Story legend Denis O’Hare has chatted exclusively to Digital Spy about some of his most memorable characters on the show.
From the slick conman Stanley to the Blue Parrot Lounge’s bartender Liz Taylor, O’Hare has played a wide range of eccentrics throughout the series’ ten seasons.
When we recently spoke to the actor for his new show The Nevers, he explained that it was Liz who he had the hardest time letting go of once filming on Hotel wrapped.
FX/Prashant Gupta
Related: Denis O’Hare on The Nevers, True Blood, and American Horror Story season 10
“I usually have no problem laying my parts aside,” he explained. “That being said, I always retain something from a character – a gesture or a moment; something that I can usually use in a different character. Many times, a character, which is a creation, opens up a door that I can go through again. They show me the way to create another character similarly. I do all the hard work.
“The one character I think that I had the most hard time shaking was Liz Taylor from American Horror Story season five, but she was also a character I had no interest in revisiting because she was a complete story.
“Whereas there are other characters I feel like, ‘Oh, I didn’t quite get to really explore that person completely. I would love to go back and do more.’ With Liz, I feel like she had a great story, it was finished, done, and put to bed.”
Rich FuryGetty Images
One American Horror Story character he’s keen to revisit is the duplicitous butler from Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies in Coven – and the actor has unfinished business from Murder House, too!
“I felt like Spalding never got explored in any depth to a great extent, and he had a lot going on,” O’Hare told us.”I felt like Larry from season one was put in jail for a crime he didn’t commit – and then what? Does he get out? Does he do a musical in jail? Does he ever reunite with his love? What? So I felt like that was a real cliffhanger for him.
“I did The Good Wife for six seasons, and I did The Good Fight for a couple of seasons. I played a character called Judge Abernathy on that. That was great, to be able to come back to him again and again and again – and also a character who grew from being very idealistic and green as a judge, to being a little more skilled in his job and a little darker and a little more cynical and a little grumpier.
JOEL SAGETGetty Images
“It was fun to let him do that, because at first I was like, ‘Oh, God. No. It’s eight years he’s been doing this. He’s getting grumpier. He’s getting a little impatient with these lawyers.’ But that was fun, to be able to feel that kind of growth.”
O’Hare will make his return to the AHS universe for upcoming season Double Feature to play a character he’s promised is “very fun”.
American Horror Story airs on FX in the US and FOX in the UK. Catch up on series 1-8 on Netflix, with seasons 1-9 available to buy on Amazon Prime Video.
American Horror Story: Murder House
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£14.99
American Horror Story: Asylum
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£14.99
American Horror Story: Coven
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£14.99
American Horror Story: Freak Show
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£14.99
American Horror Story: Hotel
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£14.99
American Horror Story: Roanoke
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£14.99
American Horror Story: Cult
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£14.99
American Horror Story: Apocalypse
20th Century Fox Television/Ryan Murphy Productions/Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
amazon.co.uk
£17.99
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