American Horror Story started in 2011 and has been around for over a decade, now in its 11th season. The show’s creators, including Ryan Murphy, have taken inspiration from all kinds of scary stories. Thus, they’ve created a world full of strange and captivating tales of horror. Each season tells a different story, bringing to life different types of fears.
What really makes the show shine are the actors who come back season after season, playing different roles. Sometimes, they even play more than one role in a single season. This flexibility of the actors helps to keep the series fresh and intriguing year after year. This shows how good the actors are and how interesting American Horror Story is. Here are the cast members, ranked.
1. Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode
Jessica Lange‘s best part in American Horror Story was as Fiona Goode in the Coven season. Fiona was the head witch of a group of witches that come from Salem. Altogether, she’s a very interesting character because she is strong and likes to be in control. However, she’s also afraid of getting old and losing her power. She even considers hurting her student witches to stay in power. Sometimes, she comes off as kind, which makes her even more interesting.
Lange’s role as Fiona makes the Coven season really exciting. The witch’s changing relationship with her daughter and how she deals with the new witches crowns the story. In American Horror Story, Fiona Goode is probably the best character that Jessica Lange has played, showing how good she is at acting.
2. Sarah Paulson as Lana Winters
Sarah Paulson is a well-known name in the American Horror Story series, as she’s featured in many seasons. One of her best roles was Lana Winters from the Asylum season. Lana is a journalist who tried to uncover the secrets of Briarcliff Manor but got stuck in the asylum herself. Her character draws inspiration from Nellie Bly, a real-life journalist who exposed a corrupt mental hospital.
Lana is strong and brave, but she can also seem cold and selfish. You may not fully love or hate her, but you understand her most of the time. Paulson’s acting is always a joy to watch, especially in the Asylum season, where she won a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress. Paulson has been in 95 episodes across nine seasons of AHS.
3. Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau
Angela Bassett is famous for her many roles in American Horror Story. But her most memorable character is Marie Laveau, the past voodoo queen of New Orleans. She played this character in the Coven and Apocalypse seasons of AHS. Marie Laveau is a strong and scary personality in the world of voodoo. Her skill at getting back at people and punishing them establishes her as a force to be reckoned with.
She lives in a world where voodoo practitioners are at odds with witches. However, she decides to team up with Fiona Goode, the leader of Miss Robichaux’s Academy, for protection. Marie Laveau’s character in the show is based on a real person who practiced voodoo in the 1800s. Angela Bassett did such a great job playing this character that she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie.
4. Evan Peters as Kai Anderson
Evan Peters has been in more episodes than anyone else, with 100 episodes across nine seasons. One of Peters’ most believable characters was Kai Anderson. He’s a man who started as an internet troll but became the leader of a group that caused chaos. Kai was charming and good at getting people to join his group. He was also mean and thought he was the best. The character’s aim was to cause trouble and take over the world.
After a terrible event occurred, Kai and his sister spend their time on the internet acting like extremists. On election night, Kai convinced a man to cut off his own hand so he could vote. After that, Kai started to reel more people in. He promised to always be there for them no matter their differences. Kai’s character was scary because he was so real and maybe even like someone you know from real life.
5. Denis O’Hare as Liz Taylor
Liz Taylor is first portrayed as the hotel’s bartender. She’s always ready to listen to people’s problems and give her wise and kind advice. Even when she’s treated badly, Liz stands tall and doesn’t let anyone pull her down. She’s brave and strong, and her sense of style is nothing short of cool. She’s a trusted person in the hotel, and even the bad guests seem to like her.
Before she became Liz, she was a man named Nick Pryor who lived in Kansas. Bottom line, people loved Liz Taylor. In fact, the LGBTQ community praised Denis O’Hare for how he played the role. He made Liz a real person, not just a character. He didn’t succumb to bad stereotypes often seen in horror stories. Instead, he highlighted Liz’s ability to accept herself.
6. Lily Rabe as Nora Montgomery
Lily Rabe has been a key part of the show American Horror Story cast for eight seasons. One of her memorable roles was as Nora Montgomery. Nora was a sad ghost who lost her son, and Rabe played the part expertly. Nora asked Tate to give her another baby because she missed her son so much. Nora’s second child was Michael Langdon, a very bad person. As such, Nora’s actions led to a big bad event, the end of the world.
Rabe’s great acting made Nora’s actions make sense, and she made the story interesting and exciting. Rabe’s role as Nora was not just about being a ghost. It was about showing a person dealing with a lot of sadness and guilt. Her great acting as Nora made her important in the show. It also showed that she was a very good actor, which made her do well in later seasons of the show.
7. Kathy Bates as Madame Delphine LaLaurie
Kathy Bates first joined the American Horror Story cast in its third season, playing Madame Delphine LaLaurie. This character was based on a real person, a rich party-loving woman from New Orleans known for the terrible way she treated her slaves. She was cursed by a voodoo queen, Marie Laveau, to live forever and was later found by Fiona Goode, who was looking for eternal life.
Bates makes us feel lots of different things about LaLaurie. We can be upset at her for hurting her slaves but also feel a bit sorry for her because of her never-ending life. She is able to show LaLaurie as a lady who loves parties, as a mean boss to her slaves, and as a sad woman who is stuck living forever. This makes us want to keep watching to see what happens next.