"American Horror Story: Freak Show" Actress Naomi Grossman on Pepper's Big Episode

Hey, welcome. Hello. Good to see you.

Thank you.

Like- So you've been in New Orleans for the past how many months?

Five months.

That's a long production schedule.

Mm-hm. Well, they're still at it. The the freaks are at it right now. They're tweeting me with their, you know, little flippers and their little little claws or whatever they whatever they have.

Oh yeah. So, I know you have um, you had a big episode um, but people are calling the Pepisode. Yes. In the spirit of your character. And I understand you you can talk to words. I know all you ever wanted was a family. So, you just remember no matter how far away I am, I will always be your family. You have been there for two seasons, I mean, on the show, which is you're the first crossover character. Um, but having sort of been a little bit sort of like a, you know, playing secondary to like other characters and having that episode, how what was that moment like getting the script first of all and sort of having those days on set?

Oh, it was awesome. Uh, I I got about 12 hours notice before we started that episode.

So when you get 12 hours notice and you get that script, what what do you do? Do you sleep the night before?

Yeah. Yeah, you get a good night's sleep. Okay. If you can. Um, you don't go to the French Quarter. You don't. You don't uh bare your breast for beads. There will be other nights for that. That's the that's the rap party for the show.

Do you guys all go out in New Orleans? I mean, you had to have gone out. Of course. Who's who's the biggest partier of the group?

I am.

Are you really?

Yes.

Does Jessica go out? Does Jessica Lang go out? Does she Does she party with the rest of you or?

Um, she actually threw us a party. She did. Yeah, it was really lovely.

What kind of party does she throw? Is it like an elegant soirée or is it like let's I'm trying to get in some insight into her.

Well, the party that she and Sarah and Kathy threw together, uh, was actually held at the Country Club, which at one time, um until only recently was a clothing optional club. Um

Oh.

It's not clothing optional anymore.

Sounds like fun. So so I'm sorry. Jessica Lane did not throw us a naked. A topless. It would have been fantastic, you know, in the spirit of the show, it would have been great.

True.

I always think that it's a tough thing to act, you know, use somebody else's words.

Mm-hm.

And and make that natural. But I think it's almost a tougher thing to act without words and make people feel so much.

Yeah, in a way, it's almost it's more difficult. Uh, because you can't rely on that. All you have is this.

How do you sort of adjust how have you adjusted as an as an actress from other things you've done before? Because this is so much like you said about this.

Well, yeah. I mean that that is a challenge for me for sure. Because I do have, you know, a stage background and comedy background where I love to just perform to the back row, and you know, just let it rip. Yeah, it's much bigger. Yeah. I think, you know, for that reason, like the name game if you remember in the asylum, that I was totally in my element. I was the, you know, let my freak flag fly, you know, in the biggest way. I remember one of the ADs from with a big bullhorn saying, everyone can go bigger except Pepper. You were already there. He was like, I was already there. Yeah.

Do you have a favorite scene that you've shot in the show?

You know, dressing down Dr. Arden was really thrilling. Like actually getting to speak for the first time. Yeah. Um, and and you know, monologues. I'd gone from monosyllabic to monologue. Um, and then uh, you know, of course, the the name game was like the blast, the biggest blast ever. Um, but you know, the the Pepisode of Asylum freak show, rather, was um, just really thrilling cuz you're like I said, I'd been, you know, kind of stacking chairs and delivering the fat lady's food for so long that being able to really like have an emotional arc, you know, temper tantrums and crying fits and tender goodbyes and it was like, wow, like a real actor's workout.

And I know in your audition, your first audition, they had you sort of do something like that with a ball or Can you describe it like

Yeah, they gave me a ball and they asked me to try to get me to play with them. Which of course now we understand what that means. Like the Pepper's first line, uh, is she sort of introduces the asylum. She says, play with me.

Ah, there we go. Um, so, you know, that's what that was. Of course, I didn't know what that meant at the time. And you had to do with one of Jessica Lang's monologues?

That's correct. I mean, again, and that was to show that I had range, that I could handle being fixed by the aliens and coming back and monologuing eight episodes later.

A lot of dramatic actors and actresses when you meet them in person, they're extraordinarily funny.

Mm-hm.

And vice versa. Why do you think that is?

Um, I know why comedians can be very dramatic. I don't know why, you know, dramatic folks can be comedic. But, you know, I think there's a lot of pain in comedy. And the opposite on the other side? Comedy is sort of just something you have inside. Like you're just sort of born with. Yeah. Um, and so I think it's easier to turn on the drama. And in my case, for example, like Pepper would have been very easy to do in a comedic way. And in fact, there were lots of times where I almost had to really tether that, you know, tightrope. Yeah. Um, if I went a little too far, it was too much. And in fact, sometimes I even wonder if when I see the episodes and they use me so sparingly if I didn't maybe cross cross the line or maybe not cross the line, but maybe it changed the tone in the show somehow. In fact, every now and then, I'd run into a director who'd say, ah, you're hilarious in tonight's episode. And I think, it's not a comedy.

Right. You're like, I wasn't trying to be.

I wasn't trying to be.

And then last but not least, I know IMDB named you one of the top ten breakout stars. Yes. And you beat, I just I'm sure you're aware of this. Jamie Dornan, who plays the famous Christian Gray in 50 Shades. Oh. You actually beat him. I think that's pretty huge.

Wow. Wow. Well, he'll be next year.

But what was that moment like? I mean, I guess it was based on the number of searches, how many times you're searched on IMDB.

Exactly. Um, uh, yeah, no. I mean, all of a sudden, bam, it was five, two weeks straight, and then three, and then two, or one. One, two weeks straight. So it was just like out of nowhere. And I'd been like, you know, 93,000 or something, uh, right before Asylum. So it was it's kind of out of nowhere.

People love Pepper. The fact that you have Pepisode, people have said Pepper for Prez. I know people have tattooed your face on themselves. What's the strangest that you've seen or heard of?

Um, I mean, that's pretty weird. I've got a whole wall of art. I mean, it's just amazing the the the creativity that this character has inspired.

Why do you think that is?

Um, I mean, I think people really respond to her naivete. And, you know, especially a show like this, it's just full of evil doers. And there's this one little, you know, victim of it all. It sort of gives us hope. Yeah. Maybe.

It was great having you here. Thank you. You're so talented. The show's so incredible. I'm a fan.

Yay.

And we all I think we all have our, you know, own little alter ego and it's nice to know that, you know, we can that it's okay to be evil and people for Mel. Oh, so it's okay. You're giving me license.

Just not freaks. Pick on pick on your own kind. Okay, got it.