American Horror Story cast: Who stars in season 13?
Ryan Murphy's hit anthology series American Horror Story is back for another season, and this is a special one, as it will act as a crossover between all of the previous runs.
The 13th season will lean into the superstition surrounding the number '13', and Murphy has described it as being "like the Avengers", telling Entertainment Tonight that characters from previous seasons will "all come together to defeat the ultimate evil".
Given that a number of stars have played different characters each season, this means many of the returning cast members will be taking on multiple roles, including Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Angela Bassett.
But who are they all playing and who else will star? Below is a full guide to the actors and characters appearing in the latest season.
- Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon, Sister Jude, Fiona Goode and Elsa Mars
- Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode, Sally McKenna, Wilhemina Venable, Karen and Mamie Eisenhower
- Evan Peters as Tate Langdon, James Patrick March and Kai Anderson
- Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau
- Kathy Bates as Delphine LaLaurie
- Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery
- Billie Lourd as Mallory and Winter Anderson
- Gabourey Sidibe as Queenie
- Leslie Grossman as Coco St Pierre Vanderbilt
- Joey Pollari as Ben DeSoto
- Paul Anthony Kelly as TBC
- Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short
- John Waters as Mr Phibes
- John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown
- Jamie Brewer as Adelaide Langdon and Nan
- Orlando Jones as Papa Legba
- Frances Conroy as Myrtle Snow
Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon, Sister Jude, Fiona Goode and Elsa Mars
About the character: Lange returns as all four of her previous American Horror Story characters. Chief among them is Fiona Goode, the Supreme witch from Coven.
Where you've seen Jessica Lange before: Lange is a two-time Oscar winner, for Tootsie and Blue Sky, and won an Emmy for her work on the first season of American Horror Story. Away from the anthology she has starred in Feud: Bette and Joan and the film adaptation of The Great Lillian Hall.
Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode, Sally McKenna, Wilhemina Venable, Karen and Mamie Eisenhower
About the character: Paulson is expected to play six roles across the season, more than any other performer. Confirmed characters include Coven's Cordelia Goode, Hotel's Sally McKenna, Apocalypse's Wilhemina Venable, and two figures from Double Feature – Karen and Mamie Eisenhower.
Where you've seen Sarah Paulson before: A regular Murphy collaborator, Paulson won an Emmy for playing Marcia Clark in The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. Her wider credits take in 12 Years a Slave, Ocean's 8, Ratched and the thriller Run.
Evan Peters as Tate Langdon, James Patrick March and Kai Anderson
About the character: Peters is playing five characters overall, with Murder House's Tate Langdon, Hotel's James Patrick March and Cult's Kai Anderson among those identified so far.
Where you've seen Evan Peters before: Peters won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for playing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. He has also appeared as Quicksilver in the X-Men films and Ralph Boner in WandaVision, and starred in Mare of Easttown and The Staircase.
Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau
About the character: Bassett reprises the immortal voodoo queen Marie Laveau, a role she first played in Coven and reprised in Apocalypse.
Where you've seen Angela Bassett before: Bassett received an Oscar nomination for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and won a Golden Globe for the role. She is also known for What's Love Got to Do with It, 911 and the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Kathy Bates as Delphine LaLaurie
About the character: Bates returns as the monstrous socialite Delphine LaLaurie, another Coven character who resurfaced in Apocalypse.
Where you've seen Kathy Bates before: Bates won an Oscar for Misery and has appeared in Titanic, About Schmidt and the legal drama Matlock. She won an Emmy for her role in American Horror Story: Coven.
Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery
About the character: Roberts is back as self-absorbed movie-star witch Madison Montgomery, a role that ran through Coven and Apocalypse.
Where you've seen Emma Roberts before: Roberts led the comedy horror series Scream Queens and has featured in films including We're the Millers, Nerve and Netflix's Holidate.
Billie Lourd as Mallory and Winter Anderson
About the character: Lourd reprises two characters – the powerful young witch Mallory from Apocalypse, and Winter Anderson from Cult.
Where you've seen Billie Lourd before: Lourd appeared in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and starred alongside Roberts in Scream Queens. She has also featured in films such as Booksmart and Ticket to Paradise.
Gabourey Sidibe as Queenie
About the character: Sidibe reprises Queenie, the human voodoo doll witch introduced in Coven.
Where you've seen Gabourey Sidibe before: Sidibe earned an Oscar nomination for her debut in Precious and has appeared in Empire and the film Antebellum.
Leslie Grossman as Coco St Pierre Vanderbilt
About the character: Grossman returns as socialite Coco St Pierre Vanderbilt, first seen in Apocalypse.
Where you've seen Leslie Grossman before: Grossman is a familiar face across recent American Horror Story seasons and first found fame in the teen comedy series Popular, another Ryan Murphy creation.
Joey Pollari as Ben DeSoto
About the character: Ben is a new character, a hospice worker who is trained by Constance Langdon to care for a wealthy elderly patient with a mysterious past.
Where you've seen Joey Pollari before: Pollari is known for his roles as Tyler Burns in Skyrunners, Eric Tanner in American Crime and Lyle in Love, Simon. He has more recently featured in Ryan Murphy projects including Monster: The Ed Gein Story and The Beauty.
Paul Anthony Kelly as TBC
About the character: Kelly's character has not been revealed, but Ryan Murphy has described him as the linchpin of the season.
Where you've seen Paul Anthony Kelly before: Kelly is best known for playing John F Kennedy Jr in Ryan Murphy's series Love Story.
Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short
About the character: Elizabeth is a ghost of an aspiring actress, who Suvari previously played in Murder House and Apocalypse.
Where you've seen Mena Suvari before: Suvari played Heather in 1999's American Pie, a role she reprised in American Pie 2 and American Reunion. She also starred as Angela Hayes in American Beauty, for which she earned a BAFTA supporting-actress nomination.
John Waters as Mr Phibes
About the character: Little is yet known about Waters's character, Mr Phibes.
Where you've seen John Waters before: Waters is the cult writer-director behind films including Pink Flamingos, Cry-Baby and Serial Mom, and is also a familiar screen presence as an actor, such as in Hairspray.
John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown
About the character: Twisty is a disgraced clown and serial killer who previously appeared in Freak Show and Cult.
Where you've seen John Carroll Lynch before: Lynch is widely recognised as Norm Gunderson in the Coen brothers' Fargo and as suspect Arthur Leigh Allen in David Fincher's Zodiac. His wide-ranging career takes in The Drew Carey Show, Carnivale, Gran Torino and Shutter Island.
Jamie Brewer as Adelaide Langdon and Nan
About the characters: Brewer reprises her role as Constance's daughter, Adelaide Langdon, who first appeared in Murder House, as well as a witch called Nan who appeared in Coven and Apocalypse.
Where you've seen Jamie Brewer before: Brewer made her TV debut in American Horror Story: Murder House in 2011 and has since appeared in Coven, Freak Show, Cult and Apocalypse. She has also had roles in the film Cherry and the series Station 19.
Orlando Jones as Papa Legba
About the character: Papa Legba is a gatekeeper of the spirit world who appeared in Coven and Apocalypse. The character was previously played by the late Lance Reddick, with Jones replacing him.
Where you've seen Orlando Jones before: Jones first gained wide recognition as an original cast member of MADtv and as the 7 Up spokesman. His screen roles include Captain Frank Irving in Sleepy Hollow and Mr Nancy, the trickster god Anansi, in American Gods.
Frances Conroy as Myrtle Snow
About the character: Conroy returns as the witch Myrtle Snow, a dramatic Coven council member.
Where you've seen Frances Conroy before: Conroy won a Golden Globe for the drama series Six Feet Under and has been a recurring presence across multiple American Horror Story seasons. She has also appeared in films such as Joker and series including How I Met Your Mother.
American Horror Story season 13 will begin on FX on 24 September and will be available to stream internationally on Disney+.
Previous seasons are available to stream now on Disney+ in the UK – sign up to Disney Plus from £5.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.
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