Cheyenne Jackson, currently co-starring in "American Horror Story: Hotel," which returns tonight on FX, has had a multi-faceted career on Broadway, in films, on television and as a recording star. Still, the intense sex scenes in "Horror Story" — in which his character, bisexual fashion icon Will Drake, marries the Countess, played by Lady Gaga — were something new to him. And he was a bit nervous.
“It was the first time I’d ever done that,” he said in an interview with me on SiriusXM Progress, about his role in the fifth season of Ryan Murphy’s "American Horror Story" franchise. “I had to look to [co-star] Matt Bomer, who’s done a lot of nudity — who’s nude a lot [in 'American Horror Story'], as he should be [laughter]. But you know, Matt is just so very pragmatic about it. He’s like, 'Well, here’s my costume,' and holds up his little string that we put on to cover our junk. But it’s part of the deal. It’s how it goes. I had to sign my first nudity rider — at 40. I was like, ‘Man.’ But you know, that’s what you do. “
It was in fact the scenes with Gaga in "Horror Story" that helped prepare Jackson for the sex scenes in the upcoming film adaptation of the Off-Broadway musical Hello Again with Audra McDonald. After a day of shooting, he recently posted a photo of himself and McDonald on Instagram, with the caption: “Love this lady…Had rough fake sex with this lady all day.”
“It’s kind of a crazy part of my job,” he said in our interview. “But it’s been really fun. And Audra was totally down. And the show, Hello Again… is all about sex. And it’s all about these desires and how they manifest between these relationships with people, so you kinda gotta go there. It was my time with Gaga on "Horror Story" that prepped me to do the stuff I did in the movie.”
”For a gay dude,” he joked, “I’m getting a lot of pussy.”
Of those first sex scenes with Gaga, the quips kept coming. “Yeah, it was hard. it was scary,” he said, adding, “Well, it wasn’t hard, but you know.”
“The first time you do it, it’s totally bizarre,” Jackson further explained. “And there’s 50 people standing around and you’re simulating a sex act…Luckily [Lady Gaga is] so comfortable with her body. She’s very free and she takes care of you in the scene. She wants you to be your best and to be comfortable, which is so great. I wasn’t expecting that. She was definitely taking care of me and making sure that I felt comfortable and good. And so, it made it easy. So then, after six hours of doing it, you know, you don’t even reach for your robe between takes. You’re just like, ‘Eh, fuck it.'”
