{"id":429273,"date":"2026-10-16T06:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T06:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/429273\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T06:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T06:52:12","slug":"american-horror-story-13-orlando-jones-on-papa-legba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/429273\/","title":{"rendered":"American Horror Story 13: Orlando Jones on Papa Legba"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Orlando Jones\u2019 agent called him about auditioning for Papa Legba in \u201cAmerican Horror Story: 13,\u201d<\/a> his first reaction was uncertainty. The late Lance Reddick, who originally played the role in \u201cCoven\u201d and \u201cApocalypse\u201d and who tragically died in 2023, was a friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018OK, but I\u2019m not really sure.\u2019 He\u2019s one of one just like I\u2019m one of one,\u201d Jones told TheWrap. The actor auditioned with material that was originally written for Reddick\u2019s interpretation of the Haitian gatekeeper of the spirit realm because the \u201cAHS\u201d team was still writing pages for this season. \u201cI think I was on another movie, and I got a phone call saying, \u2018They\u2019ve cast you as Papa Legba,\u2019 and I was like, \u2018You cannot be serious.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit of casting that echoes Reddick\u2019s memory. Jones recalled talking to Reddick about the \u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d part while they were both at the SCAD aTVfest in 2019. <\/p>\n

Though Reddick\u2019s take on the character only appeared in four episodes over the course of two installments, Papa Legba has long been a standout in \u201cAmerican Horror Story.\u201d Identifiable for his white face paint and skull-covered hat, Reddick infused the spirit of Haitian Voodoo with a contemplative energy, giving viewers the feeling that Papa Legba was far above the coven and its search for the next Supreme. At the time Reddick was playing Papa Legba, Jones was in a similar position while playing Mr. Nancy on \u201cAmerican Gods.\u201d Though the Ghanaian trickster god Anansi only appeared in 10 episodes across the Starz drama\u2019s three seasons, Jones\u2019 role was a standout one. He estimated that he only spent about 20 days on set for \u201cAmerican Gods.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cEverything else I did was either marketing, promotion, writing or producing for that show, which was odd to me, but there was no way for me to change it, so I left it as it was. And [Reddick] was expressing the same thing to me, like, \u2018Man, we are being praised for our work. We sure would love to get more screen time,\u2019\u201d Jones said. \u201cAs I came into this role of this Papa Legba with considerably more screen time than my brother Lance had received, I really took that to heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of Jones\u2019 reconfiguring of the role was already in the script. Reddick\u2019s version of Papa Legba was literally above the petty concerns of witches. But Jones\u2019 version is far more furious. After Cordelia (Sarah Paulson) contacts him in \u201cHell No,\u201d the voodoo master learned that Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) \u2014 the troublesome witch he thought was dead \u2014 had been resurrected, he was left angry. Though he still agreed to help Cordelia and the coven defeat Satan, Jones\u2019 version is far more animated the Reddick\u2019s was.<\/p>\n

\u201cLance was very still, because there was no threat coming at him. He wasn\u2019t so much central to the plot of what was going on,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWhen I read the pages, I was like, \u2018This guy can\u2019t be the same. He is hot from the word go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Another change Jones made was giving his version of Papa Legba a more authentic Haitian accent. Both Reddick and Jones worked with dialect coaches for the accent, but Jones tried to be more true to the form.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to try and create a really memorable Haitian deity,\u201d he said. \u201cI need him to sound Haitian. I need you to be struggling to understand. I\u2019m not gonna make it easy for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Though this is Jones\u2019 first time working with Ryan Murphy, it\u2019s not the actor and comedian\u2019s first time on FX. In 2003, he hosted the talk show \u201cThe Orlando Jones Show,\u201d a series that premiered around the same time as \u201cThe Shield\u201d and Murphy\u2019s \u201cNip\/Tuck.\u201d Over his career, Jones has lived several lives, starting as one of the original cast members of the comedy showcase \u201cMADtv,\u201d starring in Ivan Reitman\u2019s \u201cEvolution\u201d and providing voice acting work for shows like \u201cBlack Dynamite\u201d and \u201cTeenage Euthanasia.\u201d Part of the reason Jones has had such a long career is because he\u2019s been unafraid to pivot. <\/p>\n

\u201cI stopped doing comedies a decade ago, and my contemporaries from that time are largely all but gone, you know what I mean? A few rose to a certain level of stardom, but even then, they still don\u2019t do a whole lot anymore,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI very much did not want that. I wanted a career where I was going to be able to tell different type of stories in different genres and work with different types of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been doing different things for 30 years, primarily because I did not have any interest in what other people think stardom is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d airs new episodes Thursdays on FX and streams the next day on Hulu.<\/p>\n

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