American Horror Story: Ranking Sarah Paulson's Characters From Worst To Best
A reporter, a witch and a medium all walk into a haunted house...
It's safe to say that American Horror Story has evolved quite a bit over the years, but that's to be expected with a show of this nature. The series' unique ability to re-launch every season allows the writers to explore a plethora of storylines and genres, and these new stories bring with them a wide range of colorful characters. However, in spite of the series' constant state of flux, there's one element that's been present since the very beginning, and that is Emmy-winning actress Sarah Paulson.
From her chilling performance as Lana Winters in Asylum, to her charismatic portrayal of the fictionalised Shelby Miller in Roanoke, the esteemed actress never fails in making us experience all of the heartache and torment that her characters endure. And there are plenty of characters to empathise with because, as Paulson has been with the show since Murder House, she's portrayed a whopping 11 characters (sometimes two at a time) across all eight seasons. Is there anything she can't do?
With the Apocalypse season revisiting several of Paulson's greatest characters, we thought we'd do some revisiting of our own, by taking a look at all of the characters she's portrayed on the show to determine which one is the greatest. Shouldn't be too difficult, right?
11. Susan Atkins
While Paulson's characters usually end up playing a substantial role in their respective seasons of American Horror Story, this one is an anomaly of sorts. Ally Mayfair-Richards might've been the actress' primary role during Cult, but she also briefly portrayed Susan Atkins in a single episode.
It was only for a short time, during a sequence in which the maniacal Kai Anderson relayed the stories of some of the world's best-known killers to his crazy followers.
One of the greatest things about Paulson's characters on the show is that they're explored in detail, as the writers have set aside enough time to allow said character to go on a journey. This isn't the case here, which makes Susan Atkins Paulson's least interesting character to date. Having said that, the actress turns in a great performance, regardless of the short time we spend with the character.