A few new details are out about Lady Gaga’s role in American Horror Story: Hotel including her love of drinking blood…
American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy admits he gets more than a few calls from celebrities who are fans of the show and would like to appear in one form or another. Sometimes he’s even cast them.
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine famously appeared in season two and Stevie Nicks had a part in season three, but even he didn’t expect the call he got while on location in the early stages of preparing season five titled American Horror Story: Hotel.
“How it happened with (Lady) Gaga is she wrote ‘I love the show would you consider putting me on it?’. I wrote back yes! I didn’t hear anything back and then a week later, the best words in the English language are ‘please hold for Gaga’,” Murphy said recently.
“No warning and I was out in a field somewhere with my phone. She got on the phone and she could not have been lovelier and she has somewhat of an acting background when she was coming up and studying that she wanted to do. She said she wanted to do the show and was glad I had enthusiasm and what would she play? She said ‘I want to be evil’ that’s what she said. So you came to the right place!”
Murphy went back to the American Horror Story writer’s room to start fleshing out ideas on what kind of character would fit someone like Lady Gaga and shortly after their first conversation he returned with an idea.
According to Murphy, it didn’t take long for Gaga to accept the role and American Horror Story: Hotel had a new leading lady.
“I went back to her with a character in the season and she said ‘I’ll do it’,” Murphy said. “Her schedule is so bananas crazy and she gave us a huge window and she’s going to shoot all her episodes in that window. She sort of likes doing one thing at a time so when she’s acting with us, she’s going to be acting. She’s been very collaborative and very fun. When you work with somebody like her you sign up for something that is larger than life and that’s what you want.
“That’s proven to be the case now. Part of her role involves fashion — you want Lady Gaga to look a certain way so the designers have been coming out of the woodwork making stuff for us and it’s been really, really thrilling to see people’s reactions to her and I’m really excited and I think her part’s great.”
In the show, Lady Gaga plays the Countess — the owner of the Hotel Cortez — and she’s involved in a twisted love triangle with Donovan (played by Matt Bomer) and male model Tristan (played by Finn Wittrock).
Now here’s where things get strange….
Murphy won’t say exactly how old Lady Gaga’s character in the show might be because she maintains a youthful look and age by imbibing large amounts of human blood. Now while that sounds an awful lot like Gaga is playing a vampire, Murphy stops short of calling her that and instead comes up with a unique name just for American Horror Story: Hotel.
“I prefer the term ‘ancient blood virus,’ ” Murphy said. “It’s really a form of hemophilia, in a way.”
The Countess will also have an insatiable appetite for sex, which will land her in bed (or other places) with several characters throughout the season including a past relationship with Ramona Royale (played by Angela Bassett).
American Horror Story: Hotel will also mark the first season without Jessica Lange leading the cast and while Murphy has stated that he’s confident she will return to the show at some point in the future, he said her absence did give them a chance to create a much different story this year.
“There’s a chance to do something Jessica would not have done,” Murphy said. “So it’s a different tone. But it’s still the show — make no mistake. I think it has what people want.”
American Horror Story: Hotel debuts on FX on Wednesday, October 7 at 10pm.
H/T: EW
