Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer in 'American Horror Story: Hotel' Suzanne Tenner/FX
"By the time the cameras were rolling... I didn’t have to think of the mythos of Lady Gaga," Bomer tells THR.
[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the American Horror Story: Hotel premiere episode.]
Ryan Murphy has been pushing boundaries with American Horror Story for several seasons now, but the creator of the FX anthology has outdone himself in the latest installment, Hotel.
The uber producer went to new extremes in the season premiere when he showcased a scene never before seen on television: a bloody foursome involving Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer. The group sex encounter, directed by Murphy, marked quite the acting debut for the pop star, who plays the glamorous, bloodthirsty owner of the eponymous Hotel Cortez, The Countess.
The rendezvous begins when her and her eyeliner-wearing paramour, Donovan (Bomer), entice a playful (and later unfortunate) couple while watching an old flick at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but the adventurous tryst turns decidedly less sexy when the bloodthirsty lovers slit the throats of their companions. The pair then indulges their hemo-craving habit, just one example of the many addictions that underpin the series' this year.
An artist known for her daring outfits (let’s not forget the meat dress) and risky reinvention (from Born This Way to "The Hills Are Alive"), it’s no surprise that the burgeoning actress had no qualms going into the provocative scene — but her motivation for diving in in isn't necessarily what it may seem. “I know what maybe everybody thinks happens is that I get a script and I go, ‘Oh yay! A foursome. Whoopie!’ And it’s not just like that,” Lady Gaga tells The Hollywood Reporter.
"I don’t just simply do things because they are provocative or because they are shocking," she continues. "I’m doing it because the story that [Ryan Murphy] is telling about addiction, the story that he’s telling about our own narcissism, the story that he’s telling bout how the human being strives to survive within the challenges of the universe — that to me is what makes the sex so good.”
Bomer, however, was not quite as enthusiastic about the racy bit. His reaction when he first read the script? “Um, I think what anybody’s reaction would be, which is that you freak out a little bit for sure,” he tells THR. But it was Gaga herself (a.k.a Stefani Germanotta) who helped the Magic Mike XXL star get over his nerves.
“Thank God Stefani is not only a brilliant actress but also very relatable,” he says. “She made sure she broke down the walls for all of us. When you’re that big of a star, the ball is in your court to level the playing field and make yourself approachable.” And she did just that — the "Bad Romance" singer had the entire Horror Story team over to her house before production began.
That was all it took for Bomer to feel comfortable jumping into bed with the superstar wearing only a sock. “By the time the cameras were rolling, I was able to relate to her as a friend,” he adds. “I didn’t have to think of the mythos of Lady Gaga. We could just play the scene as our characters and not worry about anything else.”
American Horror Story: Hotel airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.
