Ryan Murphy Confirms Role for Neil Patrick Harris in American Horror Story: Freak Show

We knew that Neil Patrick Harris had expressed interest in appearing in American Horror Story: Freak Show, but Ryan Murphy has officially confirmed for the first time that the How I Met Your Mother alum will join the exciting guest star ranks for this season of the horror anthology along with Matt Bomer, Gabourey Sidibe, world's smallest living woman Jyoti Amge, and Meryl Streep's daughter, Grace Gummer.

Early in the summer, Harris told EW Radio, "I wrote a letter to Ryan asking if I can be in it, even though I wasn't even available to be in it. To do one that involves any kind of freak, circus nonsense is going to be so unsettling to watch. Can't wait!"

He also claimed in the interview that Murphy never responded to his request, but then the showrunner tweeted to him on July 18, "Of course you can be on Freak Show! I have a role I think you'd love." So it seemed that Harris would have a role, but there was never any confirmation that the offer was official or that Harris had accepted.

But today, Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter, "He's game; he had very specific ideas about what he wanted to do and I have specific ideas. We're working on melding those. I'd love to see him and Jessica Lange go at it in a really fun way and Neil seems intrigued by that notion. We're inching forward."

Harris's career is positively booming; coming off of his breakout performance as womanizer Barney Stinson, he portrayed the titular role in Broadway's Hedwig and the Angry Inch (replaced by Dexter's Michael C. Hall after an acclaimed five-month stint). He also has a significant role in Gone Girl, one of the buzziest films of the year, and is popping up as a possible contender in early predictions of Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Needless to say, his schedule will likely be difficult to accomodate, and Murphy clarified that his guest appearance would likely happen later in the season.

Murphy also stated that he hopes "people are scared shitless" by this upcoming season (which shouldn't be a problem if Twisty the killer clown has a prominent role), and that the season will serve as an allegory for the mistreatment of outsiders in society. "[The carnival performers] were the biggest movie star people in the 1920s and '30s and then TV became the new freak show and a lot of people were put in asylums, some were killed by mobs, some became alcoholics and died in the gutter. … What happened to this group of people is an American horror story. I hope people take away a respect for what this group of people went through, which I found to be very moving."

He also contradicted reports that Jessica Lange is definitely leaving after Freak Show, as there is a chance that she will return for the fifth season, at least in some capacity: "Before I was met with a quick 'no' and now I'm hearing, 'Let's keep talking,'" he said.

Finally, he spoke about Matt Bomer's highly anticipated guest spot, although he stayed mum about specific details. Murphy revealed that he will appear in the fifth episode, and that something "horrible and dastardly" happens in a seven page-long scene with Bomer and Michael Chiklis, who plays a strongman. Murphy called the scene "really f-ed up" and "maybe one of the most disturbing things we've ever done and a true horror scene."