Joey Pollari seems to be Ryan Murphy’s newest muse, and it's easy to see why.
Fans already fell for the star when he played iconic queer horror star Anthony Perkins in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, and now Murphy has cast him again in American Horror Story: 13.
The show just started, and already fans have taken to social media to thirst over a scene where the 32-year-old actor is shown shirtless in the newest iteration of the iconic horror TV series.
Pollari has had an impressive career trajectory, going from being a supporting character in Love, Simon to starring in back-to-back Ryan Murphy projects.
But who is Joey Pollari, and why are fans and Murphy so obsessed with him?
Who is Joey Pollari?
Pollari is an actor who came out as gay to his friends and family when he was 18, but only came out publicly around the release of Love, Simon in 2018.
In an interview with The Advocate, where he spoke openly about his sexuality, he admitted that shame kept him in the closet.
"A lot of the trouble was self-shame. I do believe a system of power, of patriarchy, of masculinity did impact me," he said, adding, "The greatest difficulty I found was that it didn't match my idea of myself. It seemed incongruent with the future I imagined for myself, the identity I had struck up with others. The interplay between me and women, me and men, now suddenly seemed entirely different. That just didn't seem fair or right.”
Acting isn’t Pollari’s only passion; he’s also a musician. He released his album About Men in 2020 and his sophomore album I’ll Be Romance in 2024. In September, he premiered the music video for his new single for "The Low Gives Weight,” a song from his forthcoming third album.
Where have you seen Joey Pollari before?
Pollari started off his career in Disney Channel movies like Skyrunners and Avalon High before graduating to TV shows like The Inbetweeners, Saint George, and American Crime.
His big break came when he portrayed one of Simon’s potential love interests in the gay coming-of-age film Love, Simon, before Murphy discovered him and started casting him in his shows.
First, he played Mike in The Beauty and then Murphy hired him to play Anthony Perkins in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, as well as John Morse in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
And now, he has joined the ensemble cast for the newest season of AHS.
What character does Joey Pollari play in ‘American Horror Story:13’?
Pollari plays Ben DeSoto in AHS: 13, a main character who works as a hospice caretaker at a spooky New York City residential building named The Apollyon.
Ben was born on Friday the 13th, and his mother died on his 13th birthday, two things that likely caused or fed into his abnormal fear of the number 13 (a condition called triskaidekaphobia). Throughout the show, he keeps encountering the number in eerie ways.
After he survives a plane crash that kills other people, he becomes easily influenced by Constance Langdon, played by Jessica Lange.
Fans are already thirsting after this new character and have taken to social media to share their appreciation!
