With how long American Horror Story has gone on, there have been several actors who have portrayed some of the best characters in the anthology series. We have some of the greats like Evan Peters or Sarah Paulson, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are still several others who have popped up occasionally to offer some of their best work. And, one of those actors is Finn Wittrock, who has recently been cast in HBO's Green Lantern series.
While he hasn’t been on the series for as long as some of the other actors in the show, Finn Wittrock’s American Horror Story characters truly stand the test of time and become iconic in their own right, and he shows off some amazing talent, along with the actor’s scary way of being able to look insane in the blink of an eye. Here are Finn Wittrock’s characters ranked, because he deserves just as much praise as the next guy.
4. Bobby Richter (American Horror Story: 1984)
Of course, understandably, the last character I have to put on here is the one who only appeared once during this season of the show, and that is Bobby Richter. While Finn Wittrock did a great job at portraying the son of a murderer, it’s just a shame that we didn’t really get to see more of his character. But, that doesn’t mean that his story for that one episode wasn’t great.
It’s almost like a deep dive into your past, wanting to find ways to somehow reconnect with it. Bobby came to the camp to learn about his father’s mistakes and his dark turns while he was Mr. Jingles. While he’s there, he ends up getting hurt by the vengeful ghosts that haunt the place, but at the end of the day, he still ends up getting to meet his father, his grandmother, and even the person he was named after, the original Bobby who was Benjamin’s little brother.
Even so, it’s heartbreaking how it ends. We finally start to see some form of family emerge for him, but it’s not like he is stuck in the camp forever. So, he bids them goodbye and leaves, while the rest of his family is cursed to forever haunt Camp Redwood. It’s a bittersweet ending for this family, but one that feels needed. The fact that this character was only in one episode makes me annoyed.
3. Jether Polk (American Horror Story: Roanoke)
To be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Roanoke. Hotel had seemed so dramatic in the previous season, especially with Lady Gaga having a huge main role, Roanoke felt very dim in comparison. However, for a couple of episodes, Finn Wittrock did make an appearance, as Jether Polk.
First of all, let’s just talk about the makeup and the costuming. I had absolutely no idea that it was Finn Wittrock underneath all that makeup until I looked up the credits after his first episode. They did a fantastic job at that. Another reason I put this character above Bobby is that, not only does he appear a couple of times, but he’s also genuinely a nice guy.
Well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, considering he was raised to be a savage by Mama Polk. But since he’s the only one who has never killed another human being, he has almost an empathy towards them that no one else has. He also partially doesn’t want this life that he was given, and wants to go out into the world and be famous instead of a sort of sex slave to Mama Polk.
It’s a different kind of character than the ones Wittrock usually plays in the show, and I can appreciate the variety that they gave him.
2. Tristan Duffy (American Horror Story: Hotel)
Moving into one of the two spots on American Horror Story where Finn Wittrock had a longer part, we take a look at Tristan Duffy in American Horror Story: Hotel, a model, and one of Elizabeth’s (The Countess) paramours. It starts out innocent enough, with him just working at a fashion show, and then it evolves into him becoming a full-fledged vampire and a companion of Elizabeth.
His character is such a change from others on this list. The first – which we will get into – really tested the boundaries of scary, while the latter sort of gave him a role of a more humane character with some terrifying additions. However. Tristan was someone who was literally dragged into the horror life, right into the arms of The Countess, where she ends up infecting him with her blood. From there, it slowly starts to corrupt him, and we see him change from a simple model into a killer.
Did his attitude ever really change that much? Not really. Even before he turned into a vampire he was still quite narcissistic and extremely arrogant, but at the same time, it seems that being forced into this role only amplified that and gave him almost a strange sort of twisted charisma. He’s one of the more complicated characters on this list, and I love that about him.
1. Dandy Mott (American Horror Story: Freak Show)
Dandy Mott freaking terrified me.
True story: American Horror Story: Freak Show was the first season of the show that I saw, and the first time I ever saw Dandy sitting down with my dad in our living room, I couldn’t help but hate the man for his childish behavior.
But, I was wrong. So wrong.
Was he always a bit of a jerk and spoiled? Completely, but the way that those feelings start to evolve into actually learning to kill someone near the end of the season made me want to vomit. It was almost like he really enjoyed it, feeling twisted, thinking that doing this would lead to him ending up on the Freak Show that he and his mother would see. And, the fact that his mother didn’t even seem to care about it scared me even more. She enabled it.
I mean, he literally straight up kills practically everyone in the troupe near the end of the show. It’s the definition of what a murderous rampage is. Dandy Mott is an extreme example of how a petty spoiled child can turn into something monstrous, just because of one gift or piece of advice that they might get. That’s why he’s my number one. Finn Wittrock did a fantastic job in this role, and as his first in American Horror Story, it’s clear that he made a lasting impression.
With American Horror Story: Double Feature hopefully coming out sometime this year with the 2021 TV shows, I’m so excited to learn what his next big role is going to be on the series. Whether it’s as terrifying as Dandy Mott or as humane as Bobby Richter, I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy it regardless. Hopefully, Season 10 will rank high among the best American Horror Story seasons.
