American Horror Story has been around long enough to build its own list of recurrent cast members, but only one holds the spot of the actor who has appeared in the most American Horror Story seasons and episodes. The horror genre has been going through a great run in recent years, and not just on the big screen but on television as well. One of the most successful and popular horror TV shows in the last decade is American Horror Story, created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, which has been going strong since its premiere in 2011, with 10 seasons and counting.
American Horror Story is an anthology series, meaning that each season is treated as a self-contained miniseries, and each one addresses a different horror theme – from circuses (Freak Show) to witchcraft (Coven) and haunted hotels (Hotel). However, the many references to other characters and events in different seasons have created an AHS connected universe, which is further supported by the return of different actors. Over the years, American Horror Story has built its own list of recurrent actors, with many of them playing multiple characters in one season, and some of these have become so popular with AHS viewers that their image is now inevitably linked to the show.
The audience of American Horror Story has come to expect certain actors to appear every time a new season is announced, and while some have not returned to the show in years, as is the case of Jessica Lange, there’s always hope for the show to reunite with some of its recurring actors. Of course, there are some who have appeared in almost every season and thus have appeared in most episodes of the show, but only one actor holds the title of the one who has been in the most American Horror Story seasons and episodes: Sarah Paulson, who’s AHS path began as a recurring character and quickly became part of the main cast of almost every season.
Sarah Paulson has been part of almost every season of American Horror Story, starting with season 1, Murder House, where she had a recurrent role as Billie Dean Howard, a medium hired by Constance Langdon to contact her recently deceased daughter, Addy. After that, Paulson became part of AHS’ main cast, playing at least one character in every season except for 1984. Paulson’s AHS characters stand out for their tragic stories and complexity, and she has even played multiple characters in a couple of seasons, such as in Freak Show (where she played conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler), Hotel (Sally McKenna a.k.a. Hypodermic Sally and Billie Dean Howard), and Apocalypse (Wilhemina Venable, Coven’s Cordelia Goode, and Billie Dean Howard again). After skipping AHS: 1984, Paulson returned to the show for season 10, Double Feature, where she played Tuberculosis Karen and Mamie Eisenhower. With these roles, Paulson has appeared in nine seasons of American Horror Story and 89 episodes, and she’s confirmed to appear in the upcoming season 11.
Closely following Paulson on the list of American Horror Story actors who have appeared in most seasons and episodes is Evan Peters, whose AHS path also began in Murder House, where he played Tate Langdon. Like Paulson, Peters has appeared in every AHS season except 1984, and as he has been part of the main cast since Murder House, before Double Feature he was the AHS actor who had appeared in most seasons and episodes. Evan Peters is also confirmed to return in American Horror Story season 11, so it’s to be seen if Sarah Paulson will keep the #1 spot, if Evan Peters will surpass it, or if it will be a tie.