‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ Will Feature Pepper
Get ready, American Horror Story lovers, because your favorite Asylum character Pepper is returning for another season. Actress Naomi Grossman’s Asylum character Pepper was rumored to return to the series after a call sheet was leaked. Now Entertainment Weekly got the official word that Pepper’s character will be further explored.
This is the first time a character is making an appearance in a different “story” on American Horror Story, but it makes sense to have Pepper’s storyline transition from the Asylum to the Freak Show series. FX confirmed that this will be a prequel for Pepper fans, and we will get to learn about Pepper before she was put in the asylum.
Discovering who Pepper is in the Freak Show setting should be extremely interesting. Ryan Murphy told Entertainment Weekly that Jessica Lange’s character “goes around to hospitals and jails and rescues these ‘freak’ circus performers who are going to be shipped away to asylums and she signs the waivers and she becomes their guardians.”
The fact that Pepper is going into another season is a decision that Murphy thought “long and hard about.”
In addition to Pepper, the leaked call sheet listed a few very exciting characters that we haven’t heard about — namely Meryl Streep’s daughter, Grace Gummer, as Penny the Candy Striper.
Pepper’s popularity grew unexpectedly when the character’s role was expanded into the Asylum series. Actress Naomi Grossman wrote a special piece for Entertainment Weekly about transforming into Pepper, including shaving her head for the role.
“I could begin to research this condition (microcephalia) and prepare for the role. I watched Tod Browning’s Freaks, and anything and everything “Schlitzie.” (He was the inspiration behind this character, after all.) I do a lot of comedy — big, over-the-characters mostly — so it was no mystery as to why I’d landed this part.”
The actress also wrote about the long process of getting into the role. “I find the makeup really informs the character. You get those big ears and nose and brow on, and boom! It’s Pepper-time! The entire process takes about two and a half to three hours, and that’s with two men working the entire time!”
“They literally place freckles and veins like I’m a work of art! The prosthetics consist of a forehead complete with punched-in eyebrows, a nose, ears, and even a bumpy little spine-piece for my back. I have fake teeth, which of course change the shape of my face (and speech). There’s even a wacky lens for one of my eyes. It’s subtle, but effective.”
[Image via FX]
