On tonight’s episode of Ryan Murphy’s FX drama American Horror Story, Stonestreet guest-stars as Derek, a tortured patient of Ben (Dylan McDermott) who is deathly afraid of urban legends. (Stonestreet has dabbled in darker characters prior to his Modern gig, appearing as a killer on The Mentalist and Pushing Daisies as well as an accused rapist/murderer on Nip/Tuck, another Murphy show.) The 40-year-old Emmy winner counted the ways that audiences will find Derek wholly different from Cam.

• Appearance. “My hair on Modern Family is a big part of my character. Cam’s hair is a fortress. It’s a 20-minute process every day with lots of hairspray and goo and blowdrying and brushes. And on this show, the character was described as unkempt. Dark circles under his eyes. Part of the story point is that he doesn’t have the confidence and courage to look in mirrors at all, because of a specific ghost story of what happens if you look in a mirror…. Cam most definitely has a tailor and Derek needs a tailor. If Cam finds a great shirt that he likes, he takes it to the tailor and he’ll add the extra colored cuffs. Derek definitely shops at Sears. He’s kind of an everyguy.”

Read the rest of the story on EW

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