Sarah Paulson is an undeniably talented woman. The actress has slayed on each and every season of American Horror Story she's starred in, and last year she picked a statue for her incredible turn as attorney Marcia Clark on The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story at every major awards show, including the Emmys, the Golden Globes, and the SAGs. But does she have the capacity to pull off playing the controversial, unusual-looking man sitting in the Oval Office on the upcoming election-themed season of AHS? Paulson is up for the challenge.
"I'd like to play Donald Trump," Paulson told The Hollywood Reporter at PaleyFest in Los Angeles this weekend. "If Donald Trump is going to be in a character in it," she said ,"Why not? That's an acting challenge to be sure." Paulson explained that she'd have to wear prosthetics to portray the former reality star (as well as a custom combover wig and a very specific orange shade of bronzer, we presume). Actually, we can kind of see it.
The only problem is that it's not yet clear whether Trump, along with opponent Hillary Clinton — another role Paulson would definitely rock, by the way — will actually appear on season 7 of the show. Creator and showrunner Ryan Murphy broke the news about the timely focus on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in February. But when asked whether Trump would inspire a character, he only said "maybe."
Shortly after, he emphasized that his take on the bonkers election would be more metaphorical than literal. "I said that American Horror Story’s season 7 was going to be about the election. Now did I mean this literally? No," Murphy told People. "The themes of American Horror Story have always been allegory. We’ll not see Trump or Clinton as characters on the show." He then added that Paulson would make a damn good Kellyanne Conway, though. (Just be straight with us, Ryan!) But for now, it looks like Alec Baldwin will remain the Trump impersonator in chief.