Who Has Appeared on ‘American Horror Story’ the Most?
The roster of American Horror Story Season 11 is taking shape, with the FX anthology series casting both returning favorites and new faces for its next frightful installment.
According to Deadline, Joe Mantello and Charlie Carver are joining American Horror Story for the first time — though both collaborated with AHS executive producer Ryan Murphy for 2020’s The Boys in the Band, with Mantello directing and Carver playing a part in the Netflix film.
Meanwhile, Zachary Quinto, Billie Lourd, Isaac Powell, Sandra Bernhard, and Patti Lupone are all coming back to AHS for Season 11, with Quinto returning to the show for the first time since Season 2.
None of those actors, however, ranks among the 10 longest-serving AHS stars by episode count. (With 40 credited episodes, Lourd just misses the mark.) Check out those actors’ current tallies — in ascending order — in the gallery below.
American Horror Story, Season 11, Fall 2022, FX
Cheyenne Jackson (43 episodes)
This Glee alum starred in four consecutive AHS seasons, playing hotelier Will Drake in Hotel, reality show producer Sidney Aaron James in Roanoke, psychiatrist Dr. Rudy Vincent in Cult, and warlock John Henry Moore in Apocalypse.
Emma Roberts (46 episodes)
Julia Roberts’ famous niece joined then-fiancé Evan Peters in Coven, playing mean witch Madison Montgomery, a role she reprised in Apocalypse. She also starred as grifter Maggie Esmerelda in Freak Show, guest-starred as journalist Serena Belinda in Cult, and starred as camp attendee Brooke Thompson in 1984.
Angela Bassett (48 episodes)
Jessica Lange (53 episodes)
Lange earned two Emmys and two additional nominations for her tenure on the show, during which she portrayed neighbor Constance Langdon in Murder House (a role she reprised in Apocalypse), head nun Sister Jude in Asylum, Supreme witch Fiona Goode in Coven, and sideshow leader Elsa Mars in Freak Show.
Kathy Bates (58 episodes — tie)
This Titanic alum played sadistic socialite Delphine LaLaurie in Coven and Apocalypse, bearded woman Ethel Darling in Freak Show, hotel manager Iris in Hotel, Butcher re-enactor Agnes Mary Winstead in Roanoke, and android mama Miriam Mead in Apocalypse.
Frances Conroy (58 episodes — tie)
This Six Feet Under star made her AHS debut as housekeeper Moira O’Hara in Murder House, then portrayed angel of death Shachath in Asylum, fashion-obsessed witch Myrtle Snow in Coven, socialite widow Gloria Mott in Freak Show, a Moma Polk re-enactor in Roanoke, and SCUM alum Bebe Babbitt in Cult. In Apocalypse, she brought back both Moira and Myrtle, and in Double Feature, she played Sarah Cunningham, a.k.a. the erotica author known as Belle Noire.
9. Lily Rabe
Always a welcome sight in any AHS season, Rabe has a chameleonic quality as an actor that lends itself well to the anthology format — playing a Stevie Nicks-obsessed witch in Coven, a possessed nun in Asylum, and serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Hotel, among others. Although she’s had smaller roles in later seasons, she’s considered one of the great AHS actresses for a reason.
Denis O’Hare (64 episodes)
O’Hare landed an Emmy nomination for his role as the Murder House’s previous owner Larry Harvey, then returned to the franchise as mute butler Spalding in Coven, con artist Stanley in Freak Show, glamorous bartender Liz Taylor in Hotel, Elias Cunningham portrayer William Van Henderson in Roanoke, and Provincetown councilman Holden Vaughn in Double Feature.
Sarah Paulson (95 episodes)
The queen of AHS had a small part as psychic Billie Dean Howard in Murder House, a role she’d reprise in both Hotel and Apocalypse. In Asylum, she starred as journalist Lana Winters, a role she’d reprise in Roanoke. In Coven, she starred as future Supreme Cordelia Goode, a role she’d reprise in Apocalypse. In Freak Show, she played conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler. In Hotel, she played ghost addict Sally McKenna. In Roanoke, she played Shelby Miller and re-enactor Audrey Tindall. In Cult, she played haunted mother Ally Mayfair-Richards and real-life Charles Manson associate Susan Atkins. In Apocalypse, she played Outpost 3 matriarch Wilhemina Venable. And in Double Feature, she played mysterious drifter Tuberculosis Karen and former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. Phew!
3. Evan Peters
Many of the actors on this list are indelible parts of the AHS ensemble because, no matter how different their characters are from season to season, they have a certain quality which shines through with every new part. Peters is not one of those actors. Over the course of the show, he has played the ghost of a mass murderer, a mental hospital patient, a Frankenstein-d frat boy, and a cracked-out 1920s hotelier, among others, moving from part to part with seeming effortlessness.
