‘American Horror Story’: Evan Peters Finally Makes His ‘Roanoke’ Debut

Actor plays the ancestor of a villain from a past season of FX’s horror anthology

evan peters american horror story FX
FX

(Spoiler alert: Please do not read if you have not seen Wednesday’s episode of “American Horror Story”)

After being noticeably absent for the first four episodes, “American Horror Story” veteran Evan Peters has finally arrived in the latest installment, “Roanoke.”

Peters’ debut was teased by show creator Ryan Murphy on Twitter earlier Wednesday. In the tweet, Murphy debunked the fan theory that Peters was playing the producer of the show-within-a-show, “My Roanoke Nightmare.” Some fans believed that the voice of the offscreen producer asking questions to Andre Holland, Lily Rabe and Adina Porter was that of Peters.

Instead, Peters plays a character with a link to a villain from “AHS” past. In “Roanoke,” he plays Edward Mott, the ancestor of “Freak Show” killer Dandy Mott. In a dramatic re-enactment narrated by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, we see Mott build the house that is bought centuries later by Matt and Shelby.

Mott is the first to be terrorized by the evil Butcher (Kathy Bates), as she destroys his beloved artwork and kills him for trespassing on her land. But before he is roasted over a bonfire, Mott gets to have very sensual bath scene with his male lover, Guinness. Later, Mott returns as a ghost to help Matt and Shelby escape the house and the clutches of the Butcher.

With his boyish charm and wide acting range, Peters has become one of the most popular recurring “AHS” cast members, starting with his portrayal of the twisted, ghostly serial killer Tate Langdon in “Murder House.” He followed that up by playing the series’ most noble protagonist, Kit Walker, in “Asylum.”

In later seasons, he played frat-boy-turned-Frankenstein-monster Kyle Spencer, the charmer with lobster hands Jimmy Darling, and the murderous designer of Hotel Cortez, James March.

“American Horror Story: Roanoke” airs Wednesdays at 10 PM on FX.

Check out TheWrap’s interview with Peters prior to the start of this season of “AHS” here.

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