Sarah Paulson is a staple of Ryan Murphy's talented American Horror Story cast, but who else could step into her shoes and fill her character roles in a recasting? Paulson has had an incredible career in both movies and television since her role as Billie Dean Howard - a supporting role - in season 1, Murder House. Since then, she's been a part of eight of the current nine seasons of American Horror Story, and has been confirmed to be returning for the show's tenth season, which is scheduled to release in 2021. Paulson has also collaborated with Murphy on other projects, including playing the titular Nurse Ratched in Netflix's 2020 original series, Ratched.
Although Paulson did have a promising career before her days on American Horror Story, it was through the horror anthology series that she became a household name. While the well-rounded actress has worked outside of the horror genre, with standout roles in series like Hulu's Mrs. America and American Crime Story and major movies like Ocean's Eight, Glass, and 12 Years A Slave. Even so, it's clear the horror genre is dear to Paulson, and not just as an actress. Already, she's placed her proverbial hat in the ring for directors on American Horror Story's upcoming spin-off series, American Horror Stories, which is set to launch on Hulu.
Because Paulson is so popular with fans and critics alike, and has turned several of the roles in various seasons of American Horror Story into award-winning ones, it's difficult to think of anyone else who could bring the same intensity and heart to the screen. However, there are several talented actors who could have stepped into Paulson's various roles during her tenure on American Horror Story. Here are the actors who would be best-suited in Sarah Paulson's roles in an American Horror Story recasting.
Alia Shawkat as Billie Dean Howard
In 2011, Alia Shawkat was fresh off her roles in Whip It (2009) and The Runaways (2010). The young actress not only brings a natural charisma to every role she plays, but has proven that she can juggle comedy and drama seamlessly in tandem. Billie Dean Howard is a brassy, no-nonsense medium who is friends with Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange), and acts as a sort of guide to the many spirits who occupy the Harmon family's new home, which has been nicknamed "The Murder House" for good reason. As Billie Dean, Shawkat could play expertly off Jessica Lange's Constance, casually chain-smoking cigarettes in Constance's kitchen for a chat with a cool-headed ease. This role would give Shawkat a prime opportunity to showcase her more serious side, and since it's a minor role, she could channel all her energy for Billie Dean's occasional snappy one-liners and surely steal a scene or two.
Brie Larson as Lana Winters
Lana Winters is perhaps Paulson's most iconic American Horror Story character, and served as the driving pulse of season 2, Asylum. A hard-hitting journalist based on the real-life Nellie Bly, Lana Winters is a closeted lesbian woman who is determined to find out the truth behind the goings-on at the Catholic-run Briarcliff Manor, an insane asylum. The season takes place during the 1950s and '60s, which makes aesthetic all the more important but, beyond that, Brie Larson would be the perfect fit for Lana Winters on numerous merits. While she might have become a household name after her turn as the title role in Captain Marvel, Larson's heavy-hitting performance in 2015's Room is what gives her the right stuff for this character.
Lana Winters must not only endure incredible torture - including sexual assault and conversion therapy - during her captivity at Briarcliff, but rises from the ashes of her own trauma and pens a career-defining takedown. Larson's natural intensity and charisma onscreen would execute this perfectly — plus, she's proven she's not afraid to lean on emotional heft and the ugliness of human grit for a role.
Bryce Dallas Howard as Cordelia Foxx
Like Paulson, Bryce Dallas Howard is something of a chameleon in nearly every role she takes. Whether it's an antagonistic character like her role in The Help, the heroics of her character in the Jurassic World movies, or someone in between like her character in Black Mirror, Howard can disappear into a role completely. Therefore, she'd be perfect for Cordelia Foxx, because it's a more even-keel character that requires full commitment and balance as ingredients for success. Howard has the ability to possess the same, maternal strength as the Headmistress of Miss Robichaux's Academy - a good example for young witches - but also could ease into Cordelia's sharper edges. Whether it's dealing with the grief in the aftermath of being chemically blinded, going toe-to-toe with her headstrong mother, or addressing her substantial marital issues, Howard could tackle this role with a deft hand that speaks to Coven's core message of female empowerment.
As Cordelia has appeared twice in American Horror Story history - during season 8, Apocalypse - Howard could also easily reprise the role, and could also effectively portray the growth and strength of Cordelia, who has rebuilt her coven only to see it endangered by their greatest threat to date: the Antichrist himself.
Elisabeth Moss as Bette and Dot Tattler
The role of Bette and Dot Tattler in American Horror Story season 4, Freak Show, requires an actor who can effectively tackle two very different characters simultaneously. This requires not only the ability to play off oneself, but fully understand and embrace two different characters with often conflicting desires, interests, and ambitions. As conjoined twins, Bette and Dot have seen their share of adversity, and while they are happy to be among other outcasts as part of Elsa's show, each woman shares her own goals as to what will come next. Elisabeth Moss has shown versatility in a way not a lot of modern actors - of any genre - have. Plus, in her supporting role in Jordan Peele's 2019 movie, Us, she already tackled two characters — a privileged socialite and her character's unhinged, sadistic Tethered doppelgänger. Moss has proven that she can basically do anything, and throws herself into challenging roles - such as acclaimed turns in 2020's The Invisible Man and Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale - with ferocity and fearlessness.
Samara Weaving as Sally McKenna
Samara Weaving is one to watch, and has rightfully earned a spot on the radar of many horror fans after her role in 2019's Ready or Not. While Sally McKenna is a complex, deeply-tormented character - a drug addict permanently struggling with her personal demons - Weaving has shown her ability to tackle her ability to approach roles like this with complete abandon. In both The Babysitter and Ready or Not, there's a distinct, wide-eyed willingness to fully embrace chaos that encompasses her performance and translates perfectly to Sally. Both seedy and charismatic, Sally is a tragic, constantly crying figure - one of the Hotel Cortez's ghostly residents - who hears and sees all. Weaving may be young, but the maturity of her performances and a measured, seasoned understanding of her characters' intentions would allow her to step into this role and shine.
Cobie Smulders as Shelby Miller & Audrey Tindall
Arguably one of the least flashy roles Paulson has played during her time on American Horror Story, the meta concept of Roanoke saw her playing two different characters — Shelby Miller in the re-enactment of true events on the fictional TV show, My Roanoke Nightmare, and the actress who played Shelby, Audrey Tindall. Cobie Smulders won her way into America's hearts as Robin Scherbatsky on How I Met Your Mother. The long-running CBS comedy proved her ability to portray the girl next door — with an edge. Robin is a foul-mouthed, beer-drinking, hockey-loving Canadian who has a relaxed, casual charisma. Shelby is very much the quintessential girl next door, a soft-spoken yoga teacher who inadvertently ends up in the fight for her life after she and her husband Matt move into a secluded farmhouse that is on haunted land.
Smulders could show both Shelby's quiet heart in the re-enactment episodes, but also the haughty nature of Tindall after the twist is revealed. It would give Smulders the ability to tap into not only her grasp on comedic timing, but allow her to flex her dramatic chops as well, which she showcased on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Emily Blunt as Ally Mayfair-Richards
To understand why Emily Blunt would be the perfect fit in the role of Ally Mayfair-Richards in season 7, Cult, one needs to look no further than her role in A Quiet Place. While Ally Mayfair-Richards isn't surviving a post-apocalyptic world that has been propelled into such a state by extraterrestrial invaders, she is surviving a different sort of crumbling of her world as she knows it. After the events of the 2016 United States Presidential Election, Ally is disturbed and paranoid that so many people she thought were "good" voted for a man whom she feels is a monster: Donald Trump.
Ally suffers from numerous phobias, including an intense fear of clowns, yet has to square off with a cult of clown-masked killers. She's also a fiercely protective mother, which Blunt proved she could play beautifully in A Quiet Place. Blunt is a seasoned actress, with multifaceted talents who could easily go back and forth between Ally's downward, emotional spirals and intense fights with her wife, Ivy, to showcasing cold, calculating wickedness in one of the show's best twists. Blunt could also play the minor role of Susan Atkins - a woman involved with the Manson family murders - as Paulson did.
Evan Rachel Wood as Wilhemina Venable
Evan Rachel Wood's lead role as Dolores in Westworld is steely and speaks to the core essence of Paulson's season 8 character, Wilhemina Venable, in Apocalypse. After nuclear fallout that has left the planet dangerous and destitute with few resources, Venable has taken the role of a leader of Outpost 3 for a group known as the Cooperative. The Cooperative is tasked with overseeing the survivors of the apocalypse, and Venable's no-nonsense demeanor is far more serious and emotionless than many of Paulson's other characters out of sheer necessity — she needs to be a strong, unflappable leader. While this is a very stripped-down role for Paulson comparatively, the actress showcased her steely resolve that would later rear its head in her portrayal of Nurse Ratched. Wood is another dynamic actress who can easily fluctuate between sympathetic and tenacious.
She would be believable as an authority figure with her sharp, piercing gaze and quiet strength that seems poised to strike at any moment. While Paulson did technically play two characters - including the reprisal of her role in season 3, Coven - Wood wouldn't need to tackle both. Instead, a focus on her playing Venable would make both women feel more like separate entities than they did with Paulson doubling up on other American Horror Story characters.