Interview With “American Horror Story” Star Dylan McDermott

Though there are scores of memorable moments in the American Horror Story pilot, the greatest of all are those that involve Dylan McDermott’s bare backside.

The memory of that visual proved rather distracting, however, as I stood speaking to the ruggedly handsome actor at Fox’s TCA cocktail party last month. McDermott leaned casually against the bar at Malibu institution Gladstone’s, giving off a dapper “old Hollywood” vibe. It took a pretty intense bit of focus to keep his cheeks off my brain.

“You dream of that director that gets you,” said McDermott of working with series creator Ryan Murphy, who directed the pilot. “I’ve suffered from people not really getting me. …And I feel like Ryan is the guy who got me, who finally was that one guy, that one great director, that I needed…[so that] people will look at me in a different light, and not [as] the guy from The Practice.”

Clearly McDermott is looking to shed the public’s association with him as lawyer Bobby Donnelly on that David E. Kelley series, a role he played for seven seasons before being let go by the network due to budget cuts.

Though The Practice became a critical darling and ratings hit, netting McDermott a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor during the show’s second season, he was unable to parlay its success into a fruitful movie career. His next two attempts at television also floundered, with ABC’s Big Shots cancelled after one season and TNT’s Dark Blue lasting only two.

American Horror Story could prove to be the boost McDermott’s career needs, given Murphy’s track record for creating hit TV shows and an aggressive, buzz-worthy marketing campaign courtesy of FX. In the show McDermott stars as Ben Harmon, a psychiatrist who moves into an old Victorian home with his wife and daughter for a fresh start after engaging in an affair that nearly ended his marriage. In short order, events at the house move into some seriously perverse territory.

McDermott with co-stars Connie Britton (left) and Taissa Farmiga

“[Roman] Polanski for me is always…you know, Repulsion was incredible,” said McDermott. “The Tenant, another great movie. So I love that stuff. You know, the twisted, dark, weird, throwing yourself out the window and then…it didn’t work and you go back upstairs and then you try it again. You know what I mean? This is the world that we’re occupying here.”

Indeed, the 90-minute pilot was chock-full of disturbing imagery. In just the first episode, the spirits of the house take on forms that include vicious demonic entities, blood-spattered spirits, and even one unnerving specter clad in black latex (billed as “Rubber Man”).

With the sheer amount of depravity on display in the pilot, some have argued that Murphy and co-creator Brad Falchuk are blowing their creative wads too soon. McDermott counters that its over-the-top nature will prove essential in intriguing viewers enough to tune in for a second episode.

“You know what? I think the pilot is always the most important thing, because that’s what people respond to,” he said, noting that he aggressively pursued the role before even reading the script, written by Murphy and co-creator Brad Falchuk. “When my agent told me about it…the script wasn’t available. I was like ‘Holy shit, how do I meet them? What do I have to do?’ So I went after this, because I love this world. I love Rosemary’s Baby, I love The Shining, I love psychological horror.”

Of course, the irony present in the conflict between Ben’s chosen vocation and his own emotional disintegration will be fully exploited as the series unfolds.

“I mean, this guy is a psychiatrist, so he spends a lot of time with the emotional and mental world,” said McDermott. “But…at the same time he’s helping other people, he’s unraveling. …He needs his own psychiatrist. So I like that part, that I’m helping people but at the same time I need to be treated as well. I’m trying to keep my marriage together, I’m trying to be a father…I’m trying to repair the damage that I did and inflicted on my family. So you know, I messed up big time. And you’re seeing the fallout of it.”

Which begs the question: why don’t they just leave the damn house?

“You know what, there’s a dynamic… the house is keeping us there, you see?” he answered. “So it’s not like we have a choice at some point. It’s keeping us there.”

Of course, this being a show created by Murphy – a man not exactly known for pulling back when it comes to showcasing the more explicit elements of the worlds he creates – I wondered aloud whether there would be issues going forward with the network censors.

“It’s FX,” grinned McDermott. “As long as you don’t show your balls, I think you’re alright.”

Luckily for all of us, the back end is fair game.

American Horror Story airs Wednesdays at 10 PM on FX