Cody Fern is the best thing to happen to American Horror Story in a long time

16 November 2018, 16:49

Cody Fern as Michael Langdon has been the standout performance of 'AHS: Apocalypse'
Cody Fern as Michael Langdon has been the standout performance of 'AHS: Apocalypse'. Picture: FX

By Katie Louise Smith

Joining the cast of American Horror Story for the very first time, Cody Fern came in and shook the damn table with his pitch perfect performance as Antichrist Michael Langdon.

I'm just gonna come right out and say it - American Horror Story: Apocalypse turned out to be one of the best seasons of AHS of all time. Sure, it was messy at certain points and yeah, some people didn't like the ending but I did... and this is my article, so fight me. Apocalypse (also known as the most ambitious crossover event of all time) included over thirty characters - some new and some old fan-faves - and it also introduced us to a character that we knew would change the world of AHS forever - Michael Langdon.

Michael, the son of Vivien Harmon and Tate Langdon, the Antichrist and this season's main antagonist, was played by Australian actor Cody Fern, who I would now like to claim as one of the greatest additions that American Horror Story has had in a very long time.

Now, listen... that claim is not to diminish the performances of any of the other game-changing actors who have come in and shook the table in the past few years. Lady Gaga, for example, who was perfection as the icy Countess in Hotel, Adina Porter who came back into the fold for iconic turns in both Roanoke and Cult, the holy trio of Billie Lourd, Billy Eichner and Leslie Grossman who have been the human embodiment of a breath of fresh air over the past two seasons. INTERNATIONAL TREASURE BILLY PORTER! American Horror Story would not be what it is today without any of them.

But my point is, Cody Fern, a relatively new young actor from Australia, who we'd only really seen on screen a couple of times before (in 2017's The Tribes of Palos Verdes and Ryan Murphy's Assassination of Gianni Versace), had the task of bringing the biggest villain in American Horror Story history to life and he went above and beyond what any of us ever expected.

via GIPHY

Joining a huge show that's already eight seasons in as a main character and portraying someone who fans have been dying to see since he was first introduced as a baby in season one? Cody had a huge task ahead of him but he stepped up to the plate, he did what he had to do and he stole the damn show.

Unquenchable thirst and conversations about his impeccable jawline aside, Cody's performance in this season has been nothing short of spectacular and will remain one of the standout performances in the show's history.

To be able to go toe to toe with both Sarah Paulson's Cordelia Goode and Constance Langdon (played by the inimitable Jessica Lange) and hold his own? Wig! To be able to give such a bone-chilling performance of 'grown up' Michael and then, 3 episodes later, make people sympathetic toward this vulnerable little boy who we know has already killed our faves and destroyed the world? IT'S CALLED ACTING. LOOK IT UP.

Judging by the overwhelming response to Cody's performance on social media, it looks like he's also proven to be one of the most *popular* additions to the cast in a long long time too.

Now that the season is over, all fans (and when I say 'all fans', I'm really just talking about me...) want to know is whether or not Cody will return for another round. While there's been no confirmation on the cast for season 9 yet, Cody is down if Ryan Murphy is. Speaking to OUT, he said he'd return "in a heartbeat."

"The experience is beyond comparison...To work with these extraordinary women at such an early point in my career, to work with Sarah Paulson and Frances Conroy — fuck me, Frances Conroy is one of the most talented, hard working, fierce actresses. To work with Kathy Bates and Joan Collins, the list goes on and on. To be in the same room as Billy Porter, who is an American treasure. The entire experience was so exceptional and magic. I know I’ll never have that back, that moment, it’s gone. I would come back in a heartbeat."

But what do we do now? Now that Apocalypse is over and Cody is no longer on our screens? Well, esteemed members of the council, we start speaking some shit into the universe. We simply cannot just sit back and admire his performance, we must act on it. Award season is coming up. They snubbed Evan Peters last year for his incredible performance in Cult and we're not gonna let that happen to Cody this year. We must channel that same energy we gave to Gaga when she won for Hotel and we must project into the universe in the name of Cody Fern.

Give him the Emmy, give him the Globe, give him the Oscar, the Grammy and the Tony he's not even eligible for.

Now everybody say: thank you, future Emmy award-winning actor Cody Fern.