\n\tJones knew portraying the gatekeeper of the spirit world and taking over the part from his friend Reddick was no easy task. \u201cLance is one of one,\u201d Jones tells The Hollywood Reporter. Still, as a superfan of the franchise \u2014 created by Ryan Murphy<\/a> and Brad Falchuk \u2014 already, the veteran actor was excited for the challenge.<\/p>\n \n\tBut this time, Papa is in an unusual position: he becomes the Coven\u2019s ally and key source of information about Satan\u2019s (aka Mr. Nas, played by Paul Anthony Kelly<\/a>) plan, a greater demonic threat, and how they can stop him to prevent the end of the world. The plan in question: Satan plans to leave Earth once his son, revealed to be Ben (Joey Pollari), claims his throne. So the witches must find the son to stop him from accepting the role. However, Ben finds them first, as episode 10 ends with Ben arriving at the Coven\u2019s doorstep.<\/p>\n \n\tBelow, Jones breaks down whether Papa can be trusted, the behind-the-scenes prosthetics, makeup and hair process behind his transformation, how \u201cmagical\u201d it is to be set with the Coven women, especially with Jessica Lange<\/a>\u2018s return, his thoughts on the witches\u2019 fate and more.<\/p>\n \n\t***<\/p>\n \n\tThe late Lance Reddick originally played Papa Legba, and he made a memorable impression in the role. How did you approach stepping into this character, and did you feel any responsibility to honor his performance while making it your own?<\/p>\n \n\tI mean, honor his performance? Probably not. Lance was a friend of mine, so we had a chance to talk about him doing this role at the same time I was doing Mr. Nancy at SCAD in Atlanta. I think Lance is one of one. There\u2019s no way to for me to be Lance Reddick; he\u2019s wonderful. But I\u2019m also one of one. And you\u2019re one of one. So I approach most things with that particular attitude \u2014 I\u2019m going to bring me to it. That\u2019s all I can bring. I don\u2019t have the ability to bring anything else.<\/p>\n \n\tThere was some nervousness, particularly because I hadn\u2019t read the material in advance. I\u2019d auditioned with Lance\u2019s material and met with casting, and I\u2019d gotten the role apparently, but I didn\u2019t know anything yet. So until I read it, I didn\u2019t quite know what to think. Then when I did, I was like, \u201cOh, this cannot be the same at all.\u201d Lance was so beautifully still, and I love that so much. But this Papa is agitated from the start. I mean, first of all, y\u2019all took Fiona Goode (Lange) from hell. What is that about? Apparently, there\u2019s a backdoor loophole? Why is she trying to render me irrelevant? He is furious from the start! And then realizes there\u2019s some negotiations to be done.<\/p>\n \n\tI think that\u2019s primarily because he knows what\u2019s going to happen, and he is allied to Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett). If the devil wins his bet, his gatekeeper role becomes irrelevant. So, understanding suddenly, when I received the pages, the world and where they were going with it, I was like, Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I\u2019m going to make an actual Haitian spirit. I can\u2019t wait!<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tOrlando Jones as Papa Legba in FX<\/a>\u2018s American Horror Story: 13.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Liebowitz\/FX<\/p>\n \n\tYou have a striking transformation with the makeup and hair look overall. Walk me through the process of becoming him. How long did it take to get into character? What does that transformation involve?<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s super fun. It\u2019s a little bit of a flashback to my MADtv days because nobody does prosthetics and the whole nine anymore. It\u2019s about three to three-and-a-half hours for all of it, and there\u2019s a crazy amount of pieces that you might not suspect. Aside from the face paint, contacts and teeth, there is also another layer of skin on my hands so you can weather the look on my hands with my nails. There\u2019s also a piece under my neck, so we can age that skin too. Then comes the wig and the hat, way down as far as we can get it, almost to migraine mode is what I called it (laughs), because it looks best when it\u2019s pulled all the way down. There\u2019s three people putting me together. Then pants, boots and cane and of course, the last is the cape. All of that is the full regalia of Papa Legba.<\/p>\n \n\tThe deal involving the Coven has huge consequences for them. Should fans be worried about what Papa Legba ultimately expects in return? Can the witches really trust him as an ally, or is there something in it for him, making him another antagonist?<\/p>\n \n\tGiven the end of the world, which is the greater of the two evils? I think that Papa has already demonstrated that he has an ally in Marie, and he has an affinity for the witches. I know he does not want the devil necessarily to win because otherwise, why would he assist in the way that he\u2019s assisting? His ask is most importantly is about his relevance. He needs that loophole closed. He needs the devil not to be in charge because that\u2019s the same difference as the loophole being there. He\u2019s no longer relevant. They can expect that he\u2019s going to want something for himself, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019s going to want something that would be to the detriment of the witches. That\u2019s my two cents, but Ryan might have an entirely different point of view. (Laughs.)<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019m not aware of any agenda that he\u2019s pursuing at this time. People\u2019s agendas obviously shift by virtue of circumstances. So, who knows what circumstances might activate him in that way. But right now, [he\u2019s thinking]: Why is Marie out? And what you guys want requires the help of Marie. I can get you there, but here\u2019s what you\u2019re actually up against. Most importantly, you guys are being very lackadaisical about a situation that is imminent. So, if you could get your shit together and focus, it would really help a lot. (Laughs.) Right now, I think that\u2019s what he\u2019s really trying to convey to them. Like, if you\u2019re gonna do something, then now\u2019s the time!<\/p>\n \n\tAlso, they\u2019ve been through this already. They already know what the outcome is if they don\u2019t stop him. In this iteration of the story, she\u2019s already stopped Michael Langdon. This is just another Michael Langdon of sorts, if you think about the the danger of it, at least I think that\u2019s how I\u2019m reading it. But I feel like the real danger has just knocked on the door at the end of episode 10.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tThe Coven women: Sarah Paulson<\/a> as Cordelia Goode, Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau and Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Liebowitz\/FX<\/p>\n \n\tDo you know how this season ends? Do you get scripts for all the episodes?<\/p>\n \n\tI get the scripts for the episodes that I am in. I do know how this season\u2019s going to end, but that was by function of, I think, proximity. <\/p>\n \n\tWhat can you tease about the remainder of the season?<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t know if I can tease anything. Also I\u2019m a real 14-year-old fangirl. I loved Coven and Asylum, though the first one, [Murder House], is still in my heart, the specialist. I\u2019m a little in love in terms of the fandom. So all of my hopes are about how my ships work and who I ship and what I don\u2019t ship. So my hopes don\u2019t make sense. I\u2019m in the fan fiction world. I\u2019m on A03 reading fan fiction of American Horror Story right now. I\u2019m a crazy person.<\/p>\n \n\tWere you there to hear Jessica Lange\u2019s iconic \u201cnaughty pine\u201d line?<\/p>\n \n\tGirl, stop! Yes, of course! The line I wanted is \u201cnaughty pine\u201d or \u201cBalenciaga.\u201d But \u201cknotty pine\u201d is the one. I love Jessica Lange. I completely agree with King Kong that she should have been chased through the streets of New York. He should have destroyed New York trying to get her. All of that tracks. She was so lovely and so kind to me. All of the ladies were amazing. <\/p>\n \n\tIt was a surreal set because I\u2019ve worked with various people, and I know Angela and Emma [Roberts], but when you say action, and everybody goes into witch mode, it just feels different. It\u2019s kind of magical, I have to say.<\/p>\n \n\tA big reveal too was that Mallory (Billie Lourd<\/a>) could be the next Supreme. What was your reaction to that, and could Papa really help Cordelia if that becomes the case?<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s such an interesting triangle of three Supremes in existence at the same time while a threat. I\u2019m just curious to see how that\u2019s going to play itself out and which of the Supremes he might back or might be leaning towards, because Mallory as the next Supreme is interesting to me, but Fiona\u2019s back. The original Supreme not only hasn\u2019t gone away; we all know she\u2019s made a deal. So I\u2019m not sure that she\u2019s going away. I\u2019m not sure. I don\u2019t know. All I know is, in the previous fan lore and fan fiction of American Horror Story, three Supremes is not supposed to be a thing. So that was what struck me about it. When I saw that, I was like, \u201cOh, whoa! You might be the next Supreme. Here\u2019s an existing Supreme, and the old Supreme is here. I immediately went, \u201cSomebody gonna die!\u201d That was my bet. (Laughs.) But I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s right. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s wrong.\u201d My initial reaction was: \u201cThree of you and Marie, what\u2019s gonna happen next?\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tPaulson as Cordelia with Billie Lourd as Mallory.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Liebowitz\/FX<\/p>\n \n\tCan you clarify: How did Ben come face to face with the Coven?<\/p>\n \n\tI think Ben comes face to face with the Coven after the realization with his father that, one, the devil is his father, but two, that he\u2019s not going to be able to step away from the role that his father has laid out for him. I think him showing up for the Coven, we get to see what his acceptance is or isn\u2019t because his father has been very clear that this is the roadmap. Now I\u2019m curious to see, along with other viewers, how that\u2019s going to play itself out. He still seems torn between this notion of he can be good and he can somehow get around this conundrum that he\u2019s in.<\/p>\n \n\tBut I am aware of what\u2019s going on, but I am not a part of that. I am not an agent on behalf of the devil. <\/p>\n \n\tDo you think that there is an opportunity, or would you like to explore reprising this character in another season of AHS? <\/p>\n \n\tOf course. Yeah, I had a wonderful time. He had a lot to say \u2014 very chatty. (Laughs.) Also, no one has heard a Haitian accent. I thought that was so odd when I was looking for famous Haitian actors; I thought, wow, there isn\u2019t really a famous Haitian actor who speaks their native tongue. Jimmy John Lewis was the most famous actor I found \u2014 one of the stars of Heroes. So I was excited about that too; the way they approach the language is so interesting. It\u2019s such a beautiful language. I\u2019d love to do it. I\u2019m a massive Ryan Murphy<\/a> fan, and I would do anything Sarah Paulson is anywhere near. And if you give me Sarah, Angela Bassett, Jessica Lange, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, yeah! I don\u2019t have any reason not to show up.<\/p>\n \n\t***<\/p>\n \n\tNew episodes of AHS: 13 premiere Thursdays at 9 pm ET\/PT on FX and 9 pm PT on Hulu, until the finale on Thursday, Oct. 29. Read all of THR\u2019s <\/a>season coverage here<\/a>, including an explainer<\/a> on how all pf the seasons connect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[This story contains spoilers from episode 10 of American Horror Story season 13, \u201cThe Prodigal Son.\u201d] Among the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[168671,169129,166945,169130,169131,139,141,62944,140,150190,169132],"class_list":["post-430724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-american-horror-story","tag-billie-lourd","tag-fx","tag-jessica-lange","tag-lance-reddick","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-jones","tag-orlando-news","tag-ryan-murphy","tag-sarah-paulson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n