Who Plays Ranger Vogel In American Horror Stories' Feral?
"American Horror Stories," much like its parent series "American Horror Story," is full of familiar faces, and the show's latest episode is no exception. "Feral," which weaves the tale of two distraught parents on the hunt in a dangerous wood for their lost son, is almost nothing but people you've seen before. That's no surprise, since showrunners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk love keeping a company of actors they use again and again in new roles.
But while you may immediately clock the two leads — Aaron Tveit and Tiffany Dupont from their recent projects ("Schmigadoon" for Tveit and "9-1-1" for Dupont) — you also likely found yourself recognizing the supporting players in "Feral," too.
For example, Stan Vogel, the Park Ranger who reveals the whole, frankly bizarre, government plot to cover up the cannibals hiding in the woods, likely also looks very familiar to you. Vogel is played by Cody Fern, and even if you're just a fan of Ryan Murphy's work, chances are good you've seen Fern multiple times already.
Michael Langdon and Xavier Plympton in American Horror Story
The most obvious place you probably know Cody Fern from is his past within the "American Horror Story" shared universe — although in both previous roles, Fern looks very different. The actor previously appears in both the "Apocalypse" and "1984" seasons of "AHS".
Focusing on the latter first, "1984" is a series that marries classic '80s slasher movies with the "AHS" tendency to take everything to an absolutely off-the-wall supernatural place. In the season, a number of aerobics instructors all escape the city and come to Camp Redwood.
Fern plays Xavier Plympton, one of the aerobics instructors who wants to be a method actor, but finds himself pulled into the porn industry partially due to a drug addiction. Things go extra sideways for Xavier after he gets cooked by a serial killer, dies, and becomes a deeply sadistic ghost — that's one way of going method!
If that sounds dire, his character Michael Langdon from "Apocalypse" actually takes things much, much further. As you might have guessed from the title of the season, Langdon plays a part in the end of humanity, but not just any part — he's the Antichrist. Not only that, he's actually the demonic offspring of Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) and Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton), an extra unholy pairing since Tate is a ghost.
In addition to bringing about Armageddon, Langdon also spends his days coercing what remains of the human race into giving in to their most base and immoral natures. In short, Cody Fern is very good at playing pretty men who do deeply messed up things.
David Madson in American Crime Story
If you're a Ryan Murphy fan and your adoration for his work extends beyond "American Horror Story" and its latest spin-off, you may also recognize Cody Fern because he also appears in that other "AHS" pseudo spin-off show, "American Crime Story." As the name suggests, the series replaces fictional horror with stories based around real-life crime. The series has already covered the murder trial of O.J. Simpson and is set to examine the impeachment of former president Bill Clinton in fall 2021.
In its sophomore season, "American Crime Story" adapts Maureen Orth's "Vulgar Favors: Andre Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History" as it explores the horrifying assassination of fashion designer Gianni Versace.
If you assumed based on his "American Horror Story" track record that Cory Fern plays a murderer, you would actually be wrong this time. "ACS" is an exploration of both Gianni Versace (Édgar Ramírez) and his killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss). Part of that story involves showing the descent into homicidal madness Cunanan took over his life — and a big part of that is his relationship with David Madson, as played by Cody Fern.
Andrew Cunanan referred to David Madson as the love of his life and the man he wanted to marry. However, Madson spurns Cunanan and tries to move on from a man who, even by his own friends, was considered to be a dangerous and pathological liar. Tragically, both in the show and in real life, Cunanan murders Madson.
Duncan Shepherd on the final season of House of Cards
The Netflix series "House of Cards" has a pretty complex story — and that's just the one behind the camera. The show about the lengths a corrupt politician will go to for absolute power was obstructed by real life accusations against its lead actor Kevin Spacey. Ultimately, based on the veracity of those claims (and the fact that there were accusations within the series production itself), the decision was made to permanently part ways with Spacey, taking his character Frank Underwood out of the story entirely and placing his wife Claire Hale (Robin Wright) as the story's new lead (and new president) for the show's final season.
During the sixth and final season of "House of Cards," Hale finds herself facing off against her childhood friend Annette Shepherd (Diane Lane) who, along with her brother Bill (Greg Kinnear), attempt to use the money and power they have to control American politics.
Cody Fern plays Annette's son Duncan in the series. When we meet Duncan, he is in control of a mobile app which Director Of Communications and Press Secretary Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil) wants to use to mine personal data for the Shepherds.
However, there's a much larger story for Duncan when it's uncovered that he is not actually Annette's son. This revelation not only leads to Duncan falling out with the family he thought he was a part of but eventually leads him down a path where he becomes arrested for treason by the FBI.
In addition to "American Horror Stories," Cody Fern can also be seen in the Australian Stan series "Eden."