Oscar-nominee Angela Bassett likes her thrills. With her pick of shows that were courting her, Bassett will join the cast of American Horror Story.
Show creator and producer Ryan Murphy tweeted this morning that he not only lured Bassett but Tony Award winning actress Patti LuPone to the cast of his show. The ladies will join another recent cast addition, Gabourey Sidibe. They will all appear in the witch-themed third cycle, dubbed American Horror Story: Coven.
Details are again being kept under wraps on who everyone will be playing. Producers have indicated that the series would again search for haunted places in America. Murphy previously shared that next year would feature three characters playing real people, including another recent addition, Oscar winner Kathy Bates.
“It’s a really cool story that we’ve been talking for a couple of years, and this seemed to be the year to do it,” Murphy said, noting the series will shoot in multiple locations, one of which is New Orleans — the first time the series has exited its soundstage filming location.
Bassett, meanwhile, fielded multiple broadcast pilot offers this past season. Her small-screen credits include ER, Alias and her Emmy nominated title role in The Rosa Parks Story; her feature film résumé is lined with Green Lantern, Olympus Has Fallen and 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It. She earned an Oscar nomination for actress in a leading role and a Golden Globe win for her work as Tina Turner in the latter.
LuPone won Tony Awards for her role as Eva Peron in 1979’s Evita and as Mama Rose in 2008’s Gypsy: A Musical Fable. Her TV credits include episodes of Army Wives, 30 Rock and Frasier, the latter of which earned her a guest actress in a comedy Emmy nomination.
The duo joins recently announced Sidibe, Kathy Bates and returning players Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, Frances Conroy and Lily Rabein Coven, which will debut in October.