RHOSLC inspires Sarah Paulson for new role

It can take a lot for a celebrity to get into the right mindset for a role they’ve taken on. Sarah Paulson definitely knows what it takes to really embody the role she’s portraying, but where does she get her inspiration? While appearing on The View, Paulson gave some insight to where her inspiration came from and it might surprise some people.

This RHOSLC cast member has the energy she’s looking for

With an opening night of December 18, Sarah Paulson will be making her return to the stage in order to play the role of Antoinette “Toni” Lafayette in the Broadway production Appropriate. Paulson said that when she takes on a new role, she looks for ways to communicate to the audience that she’s playing a real person in order to have a stronger connection with the people watching her performance.

To help her embody the oldest sibling of the dysfunctional Lafayette family in Appropriate, Paulson stated that she’s been turning to a variety of shows to inspire her, including Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Although there’s no doubt that RHOSLC features its fair share of dysfunctional cast members, Paulson stated that there’s a specific housewife that she’s kept her eye on to study for this performance.

"I’ve been watching The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. There’s one character named — she’s not an actress, she’s a character on this show, she’s a person I guess — Meredith Marks and she has a particular intensity that I have decided to abscond with and tried to turn some of that energy into this person I’m playing."

Sarah Paulson’s next role

Appropriate is a play written by American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a 2016 MacArthur Fellow and 2014 winner of the Obie Award for Best New American Play. It follows the Lafayette family as they return to Arkansas to visit their dilapidated family plantation following their father’s passing. Upon arriving, the family begins to dig through the secrets and sins of their past.

In the play, Paulson will be playing one of the Lafayette siblings, Antoinette, who is described as being the oldest sibling in her 40s/50s. In the past, Paulson has gained critical acclaim for her ability to portray a wide variety of different characters on Ryan Murphy’s hit anthology series American Horror Story, so it’s no surprise that fans are excited to see her return to Broadway in this comedic drama.

How will this RHOSLC cast member’s “intensity” inspire her portrayal? Broadway fans can find out when the show officially opens on December 18. In the meantime, watch Paulson talk about her process for taking on a new role in her interview on The View below.