Evan Peters is determined to prove that he's not a creep. A regular on Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series American Horror Story, he's played, among other characters on the show, a mentally disturbed ghost, a serial-killing hotelier, a manipulative cult leader, and—oh, yeah—Charles Manson.
Unfortunately, he's very good at being creepy. His latest role—on Murphy's Pose, a passion project for the producer and his last for FX, which explores New York City's ballroom scene of the '80s made famous by Madonna's "Vogue" and Paris Is Burning—is a shade lighter, but only barely. Peters plays Stan, an underling in Donald Trump's real estate business who's cheating on his wife with Angel, a transgender prostitute he meets on Christopher Street Pier. White and straight, Peters is still somehow the resident outsider on the defiantly uplifting Pose, which has a cast that is largely queer and trans, many of them people of color.
While it's rewarding, he'd like to get back to being Evan again. Out of costume, the 31-year-old actor (he looks much younger) sports the Regular Guy uniform: a black T-shirt and loose-fitting jeans, along with leopard-print Golden Goose sneakers that plead, I know how to have fun.
GQ talked to him about the more wearying parts of his job, cock socks, aspiring to romantic comedies, and why his acting idols are Tom Hanks and Robin Williams.
GQ: You end up in these incredibly intense roles in Ryan Murphy's shows and the new film American Animals.
Yeah, I'm not doing it anymore. I just made a decision. I said to myself, "I can't do it anymore." It's not me. It's not who I am!
You seem like a laid-back dude.
I'm goofy, I'm silly, I like to have fun. I don't like to yell and scream. I actually hate it. I think it's disgusting and really awful, and it's been a challenge for me. Horror Story sort of demanded that of me.
You've played some pretty freaky people.
I know, and it's been all a massive stretch for me and really difficult to do. It's hurting my soul and Evan as a person. There's this massive amount of rage that's been called upon from me, and the emotional stuff that's been called on me for Pose has been heartbreaking, and I'm sick. I don't feel good.
American Horror Story has taken a lot of turns over the years. You've become part of its core.
Look, I've always consistently been trying to just be able to work. [laughs] A lot of turns I didn't know I was going to be taking. You rise to the occasion, but I never quite wanted to go that route. My favorite actors are Jim Carrey and Chris Farley, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams. Robin Williams is the best—to be able to do all that comedy but also be heartbreaking.
What kind of toll does the sinister stuff take on you?
It's just exhausting. It's really mentally draining, and you don't want to go to those places ever in your life. And so you have to go there for the scenes, and it ends up integrating it somehow into your life. You're in traffic and you find yourself screaming and you're like, What the hell? This isn't who I am. I fight really hard to combat that and make sure that I'm watching comedies and hanging out with my fiancée [actress Emma Roberts] and chilling with friends and watching movies.
What's been the hardest thing to do?
Almost every role, there's been some sort of weird sex scene, and sex scenes are not easy to do. They're very embarrassing, especially when you're in your twenties and you're still awkward.
You had a cock sock malfunction.
Your balls are hanging out in front of Jessica Lange, and it's like, This is not normal. This is a very vulnerable experience.
Any traumatic scenes that come to mind?
A strange one was when I was Mr. March [in American Horror Story: Hotel]. I was doing this butterfly razor cutting of this poor girl while I was having sex with her. It was just horrific and weird and sad. At that point, it was season five, and I was more comfortable with the crew, so it's like, okay, I guess my butt will be out. There were some earlier ones that were very unnerving. One thing with Kyle [Spencer in American Horror Story: Coven], I had to get out of the tub and hit a lot of stuff and be upset and was completely naked. You have your cock sock on, but you're still naked.
Do those cock socks ever fall off?
Yeah, of course they do, all the time. So there's a 50/50 chance your cock is going to be coming out. It's a little gnarly.
You still have shown an impressive amount of range and can be vulnerable. I'm kind of surprised you haven't been cast in a romantic comedy.
I'm craving doing one of those. I would love to do a romantic comedy. I've been watching so many of them. I love them.
Have you auditioned for any?
It's not that I'm pigeonholed as one character, but all the darker stuff gets more thrown at you. In a way, I have to prove that I'm not this crazy guy, which is fine. I just get to be myself now. I would love to go out for a romantic comedy. It's just a matter of opening that door to them and fighting for them when they come along.
You're the lone white, straight guy playing a main character on Pose. Was there hesitation in doing that?
There was no hesitation. There was only curiosity. I had never seen Paris Is Burning, and then I watched it and I fell in love with it. This is a whole world and culture that I knew nothing about. It's been a massive learning experience, and I've grown a lot. I've learned a lot from the trans community. They're an incredible strong community, and they've had to deal with way bigger problems than anything I've ever had to deal with. It just makes me humbled.
I can't imagine you have much in common with Stan.
No, but I can understand pressure, the need to perform and be perfect and try to get everything right, and it almost making you want to throw it all away. You have to love your character, but it is sad what he's doing to his wife and kids. I hate it. I think he also hates it. It's who he really is that he's not being honest with. He's not letting that out. He's torn.
Have you ever said no to anything Ryan Murphy has asked you to do? Sarah Paulson said it never even occurs to her.
No, no. I trust him and his vision and his writing and directing and sort of him overseeing everything. I know there's a bigger plan, and so I always throw it up to him, and I say, "I'm in your hands. Let's do this. Whatever you need me to do."
How is he on the set? It seems like he could maybe get dictatorial.
He can when things are off. Kind of look out a little bit. But for the most part he's really funny and hilarious and loving and looking out for everybody and making sure everybody's comfortable. You trust him.
This story originally appeared in the August 2018 issue with the title "Evan Peters Is Much Chiller Than His Characters."