American Horror Story: Actors Season 3 //top\\

Playing Fiona’s meek, emotionally battered daughter, Sarah Paulson gives a masterclass in vulnerability. Cordelia starts the season as a fragile flower, blind (literally and figuratively) to her own power. Watching Paulson transform Cordelia from a pushover into the fierce, all-seeing Supreme is the emotional heart of the season.

It’s campy. It’s gory. It’s feminist. And it remains the most re-watchable season of the entire anthology. american horror story actors season 3

Oh, Misty Day. The swamp witch who can resurrect the dead and just wants to listen to Stevie Nicks. Lily Rabe is ethereal and heartbreaking as the outcast who longs for a coven that will accept her. Her obsession with Fleetwood Mac and her fear of being burned at the stake make her the season’s most innocent (and tragic) soul. It’s campy

Stay spooky.

In her AHS debut, Emma Roberts torpedoed the "nice girl" image forever. Madison is a former Hollywood starlet, a telekinetic mean girl with a Valium habit and the mouth of a sailor. "Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me." Roberts is hilarious, terrifying, and utterly iconic as the queen bee of hell. And it remains the most re-watchable season of

Let’s break down the supreme cast of AHS: Coven . Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode The Supreme herself. Jessica Lange is an atomic bomb in this season. As the aging, desperate, and ruthlessly selfish Fiona, she chews every piece of scenery (and every line of dialogue) with vicious glee. Whether she is seducing a man in a cemetery or screaming "I’m not stopping to take a poll!"—Lange proves that the devil doesn't wear Prada; she wears couture and wields a kitchen knife.

The underrated secret weapon of the season. Nan is a clairvoyant with a sharp tongue and a moral compass that eventually snaps. Jamie Brewer delivers deadpan one-liners that rival Jessica Lange’s. Her subplot with the neighbor, Luke, brings a surprisingly tragic sweetness to the chaos. The Forces of Darkness (and Voodoo) Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau The queen of the screen. Angela Bassett enters AHS as the immortal Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. With a cobra draped around her neck and fire in her eyes, Bassett matches Jessica Lange blow for blow. Their rivalry (spanning centuries) is the backbone of the season. Marie Laveau is powerful, sensual, and brutal—and Bassett makes you root for her even when she’s summoning a Minotaur.