Sarah Paulson on the gay man who changed her life: “He’s completely interwoven in my development of self”
Ryan Murphy, who I had done one episode of Nip/Tuck with years prior. I went for dinner with Jessica in L.A., and Ryan was there, and she was like ‘Can you find something for Sarah to do?’ And Ryan was like, ‘Yeah.’ And then I came on as the medium in season one of American Horror Story, and the rest is history.
Well, what Ryan gave me unequivocally was a career. My work with him gave me currency as a performer, and he kept asking me to do things that were challenging and operatic, and connected me to a thing I didn’t know I was capable of, which was big swings.
I wasn’t aware that I was capable of doing something broad or something brave. But the thing that has become very clear to me, that is almost more important than the opportunities he gave me, is that he’s my friend before anything else.
He is completely interwoven in my development of self, because through his gaze, I sort of discovered my own tastes, my own sensibilities—what spoke to me, what didn’t.Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Paulson has worked on 14 of Murphy’s projects including nine seasons of American Horror Story and two seasons of American Crime Story.Trivia: Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark in ‘The People v.
