‘AHS: Apocalypse’ Star Joan Collins Reveals How She Landed Her Role

Actress Joan Collins joined American Horror Story: Apocalypse as one of the most high-profile actors in the cast, both past and present, but it turns out landing the role was all by chance.

Sitting down with James Corden Thursday night on the Late Late Show, Collins opened up about how she landed the role of Evie Gallant, the grandmother of Evan Peters’ character. As it turns out, The Hollywood Report reports, she has a fellow cast member to thank.

“I’d never met him [creator Ryan Murphy]. She introduced me, but I didn’t catch his name. He was saying, ‘I really want you to be in my show. I’d love to write a role for you.’ I’m saying, ‘Oh, that’s good.’ But this is the sort of Hollywood thing you hear all the time. And he was very nice, but I didn’t quite know who he was until it suddenly clicked, ‘Oh, this is the $300-million man who had just made the deal with Netflix,’” she added, referring to Murphy’s recent jump to the streaming platform.

“As we’re walking out, I think nothing will happen here and I bump into an actress who said, ‘Oh, I saw you talking to Ryan. Did he offer you a role on American Horror Story?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ She said, ‘Oh, he did [for] me too,’” Collins said. “But anyway, she didn’t get it. But I did.”

Unfortunately, Evie Gallant’s time on the popular FX horror anthology series was short-lived. After being whisked away to survivalist bunker Outpost 3 by chance and luck, Collins’ character ultimately met her end in the most recent episode, “The Morning After.”

Despite her bloody death, in the universe of American Horror Story, there is still a slim chance that Evie Gallant could survive in a ghostlier form.

As was noted in the trailer for episode three, titled “Forbidden Fruit,” All Hallows Eve is approaching.

“Tonight is all hallows eve,” Ms. Wilhemina Venable (Sarah Paulson) tells the group of survivors, who are all currently vying for a spot in Michael Langdon’s (Cody Fern) Sanctuary. “Everyone shall savor this night as if it were their last.”

Fans of the series will remember that Halloween is not just a night for trick-or-treating, but also the one night a year that the dead can freely roam the earth, as was noted in season 1’s Murder House, which serves as one-half of the crossover seasons in Apocalypse.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.