Of course, there’s the obvious question an actor who enjoys playing horror inevitably comes up against, and Leslie Grossman seems aware of it. “I don’t know what it says about me that I’m having the time of my life playing a horrible, psychotic, vicious, awful killer,” she continued, “but it’s just been the most fun for me.”
Grossman is far from alone. Many actors famously love to play the villain as it gives them a chance to explore some forbidden or taboo facets of the human mind. Even actors with widespread reputations for being incredibly warm and decent people are able to really sink their teeth into villainous characters. For example, Bryan Cranston comes to mind for his portrayal of Walter White, who does some truly evil things over the five seasons of “Breaking Bad.”
Still, for Grossman to say that “AHS” creator Ryan Murphy is giving her a gift is not nothing. Taking into account the whole scope of her resume, she has technically been familiar with what it means to work in Murphy’s oeuvre for more than twenty years. Between 2003 and 2008, she appeared three times in “Nip/Tuck” as the character Bliss Berger. Before that, she played unhinged and spoiled cheerleader Mary Cherry in all 43 episodes of the WB’s “Popular,” the show that arguably put Murphy on the map.