[Editor’s note: The following containsspoilersforAmerican Horror Stories, Episodes 1-2, “Rubber(wo)Man."]
From executive producersRyan MurphyandBrad Falchuk, the FX on Hulu streaming spin-offAmerican Horror Storiesis a weekly anthology series that features a different horror story with each episode and delves into various horror myths, legends and lore, with possible tie-ins and references to theAHSworld. The first two episodes are a return to the Murder House from Season 1, as the teenaged Scarlett (Sierra McCormick) and her two dads, Michael (Matt Bomer) and Troy (Gavin Creel), move into the creepy home with the goal of renovating and flipping it, only to discover that the darkness within it is never too far from the surface.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, Bomer talked about being a huge fan of anthology series, playing a character whose goal is to keep his family together no matter what, the logistics of shooting with someone wearing the Rubber Man costume, how much he enjoyed working with his young co-stars (which also includedParis JacksonandKaia Gerber), and the fun of shooting scary and dark stuff.
Collider: So, I’ve gotta ask, if someone you cared about was like, “Hey, I’m gonna buy the Murder House and remodel it,” would you advise them that might not be the best idea and that maybe they should just find another house to flip?
MATT BOMER: I guess it would really depend on how I felt about that person. No. It would go beyond advice. There would have to be a full-blown intervention. Listen, the flipping game is very competitive. These guys had to get in when they could. My only rationale for it at all, because as an actor, you have to think about these things, is that I would imagine, like the rest of the world, the pandemic really affected them and they had to make major life changes. They probably took what money they had and tried to come up with a plan to not only make their dreams a reality, but also monetize it in a way that could maybe get them out of trouble.
What was your reaction to learning about this spin-off of an anthology series, which is essentially anthology episodes? Did you feel like that was an interesting next step for this whole world?
BOMER: I’ve always been a huge fan of anthology series. As a kid, I grew up watchingThe Twilight ZoneandTales from the Dark Side, and shows like that. I was a big fan of that particular format and I was excited to see what Ryan [Murphy] would do with it because I knew he would definitely put his own spin on it. Having been a part of theAHSworld before, I thought, “This could be interesting, if it’s not only episodic, but flirts with alumni and also certain mythologies and locations that folks who have enjoyed the show in the past have come to know and love, or hate.”
Has there been anything you’ve done on either the main series or the spin-off that you felt was too dark, or are you always able to make light of things that are of this kind of subject matter?
BOMER: It does get dark. I’ve done a few jobs where I’ve had to go to some pretty dark places and there are definitely scenes that you don’t wanna spend too much time on. You wanna get in, get the job done, and move on to something else. But in terms of this show, I don’t know if I felt that way in anything we did for these two particular episodes. I haven’t had a chance to see it because I’m on vacation and I don’t have Hulu where I am. But from what I can recall, I don’t remember ever going too dark, other than just the psychological challenges of parenting a child who’s going through some very disturbing things. I think I’ve died 14 times, or something now, on film. It used to be such a cathartic experience for me and now it’s like, “Okay, set it up. Let’s go.” I’m probably more nonchalant about it than I should be, outside of action and cut. I don’t know. I probably burned a little sage when this job was done, just to say goodbye.
What was it like to shoot the scene with Scarlett (Sierra McCormick) in the Rubber Man, and now Rubber Woman, costume? When she comes into the room and attacks you guys, did you have to verify not to get too close to her, so that you don’t stick to the suit? How did that work?
BOMER: It was partially technical because there were stunts and other things involved, and it was broken up in places. It was like doing two scenes in one. One is a straight-up horror scene where there’s an interloper in your house and you have the complete fear of the unknown. It’s an extra horrifying thing to not know who this person is and also why they’re in this suit and in your house with a knife. So, there’s that aspect of it. And then, there’s the reveal that it’s your daughter, and that’s a whole different psychological game going on there. There are different stakes to the scene that are equally hot, emotionally, but in a very different way. I remember thinking Sierra did such a great job, and not to objectify, but she looked fantastic in the suit. It’s a piece of costuming that takes a great deal of time and effort, so I don’t know that I ever made an effort to like give her a hug at the end of the day, or anything like that, because I didn’t want to accidentally scratch it. I didn’t find it particularly sticky though. I did touch it with her permission. It’s 2021, so I had her permission. I did touch her arm or something, and it was surprisingly touchable. It’s so shiny that I can see why you would think it would be sticky.
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The other scene that really stood out to me is the one where her dads are confronting her about the porn that she watches, which is never a comfortable conversation to have with someone, especially your child. What was that like to do? How did you find that scene?
BOMER: If you look at the parenting challenges of this day and age, particularly when you know there’s a generation of kids who’ve been stuck at home for the past year with their internet, there are certainly very real challenges. I don’t know about it, in terms of the darkness of the porn that she was watching, but I can see how they’re playing on certain parental fears. Your job, as an actor, is to attempt to get inside of that, as disturbing as it may be. When it comes to your kid, you love your kid and you want what’s best for them and you want to not shame them around certain things, but also make sure they’re not going down a path that could lead to a really dark future for them and possibly other people as well.
These two dads take being murdered exceptionally well.
BOMER: They sure do, don’t they.
Why do you think that is?
BOMER: For Michael, his whole MO is to keep the family together from the get-go, whether it be to create this great B&B all together or to be stuck in eternity together. So, when he realizes that he is going to have a life after death with his husband, where he gets to see his daughter, at least on a yearly basis, and he gets to spend time with all of these new girls who are surrogate children for him, in a weird way, it’s a dream come true for him. For Troy (Gavin Creel), it may be more of a nightmare. I don’t know. Fidelity is not Troy’s strong suit, but I guess there are probably enough people in that house for him to fool around with, so he’ll be fine.
How did you find getting to work with Paris Jackson and Kaia Gerber, who are both fairly new to acting?
BOMER: Honestly, one of the most exciting things about this project was getting to work with all of these great young actors. I adore Sierra McCormick. I love her and I loved getting to work with her. I’m so excited for where her career is going. And it was so great to get to meet all of these exciting new, younger actors as well. I don’t know that Kaia had ever really done anything before, in terms of acting on film, and I was so impressed with her. The way they shoot this, oftentimes rather than look at the actor in the scene, you’re looking at the matte box, which is the lining around the camera lens, and you’re looking at a little X made out of fluorescent tape on the corner of the matte box, as opposed to the actor. And sometimes you’re switching your eye line on the actor to the tape on the matte box. It sounds somewhat trivial when you’re trying to describe it, but it’s actually quite complicated when you’re doing it in the middle of a take that involves action or heightened emotions. I was so impressed with the way Kaia was able to handle all of that. And I love Paris. I didn’t get to do a great deal of scenes with her, but I just loved her and all of the girls in this. It was exciting. When this was all coming to fruition, one of the things I was most excited about was the opportunity that these young actors were getting in this piece.
They seem very all in and like they were enjoying themselves a ton.
BOMER: Yeah, I think a lot of them were fans of theAHSfranchise. When I got to first joinAHS, I was a fan of the franchise and, all of a sudden, you’re on it and you’re inside of it. It becomes a very surreal experience where you’re living out a dream that you weren’t sure you’d ever get to live out.
Your character doesn’t murder anyone himself, but there’s an awful lot of murder going on around him. How does shooting those scenes compare to shooting the scene where you’re actually getting murdered?
BOMER: Honestly, those scenes, when you’re running around the house and people are gonna kill, obviously you’re committing 150 percent, but in the moment, there’s something that’s really fun about filming those things. I’ve known Gavin for 20 years. We’ve been friends for a long time. We were just running around the house, screaming our heads off. We were obviously committing fully in the moment, but then you’re like, “This is actually a fun day at work, just running around a haunted house from monsters.” You tap into the time you first watchedNightmare on Elm Street, or something like that, as a kid. All of a sudden, you’re getting to be a part of this world that you’ve been a fan of for a long time. In some ways, those are actually the easier days at work.
These two episodes made me want a spin-off of the spin-off, so that I could watch the afterlife with these two dads and what they get up to.
BOMER: Oh, my gosh, it should be a multi-cam sitcom of just their life, stuck in Murder House.
American Horror Storiesis available to stream at FX on Hulu.
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