Tyler Cook. Photo: Passionflix
American Horror Story: Hotel is my favorite season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s long-running horror anthology. Imagine my joy when Tyler Cook, Hotel’s Lumberjack himself, landed the role of Jesse Ward in This Man.
Since Cook’s casting I’ve gone back and watched Hotel again through a completely new lens. If you’re not familiar with American Horror Story season 5, it’s the story of the Hotel Cortez and all of its ghostly inhabitants.
Hotel Cortez is based on the Hotel Cecil in Downtown Los Angeles. Once a regal crown jewel and hotspot in LA, over the years it has attracted the wrong kind of attention. It’s the subject of a true crime documentary on Netflix about the disappearance of Elisa Lam, and it was also the home of notorious home of the Night Stalker, which is also the subject of a Netflix documentary.
Hotel is also the season that introduced Lady Gaga as the Countess, a vampire with a thirst for the finer things in life. One of her offspring, a model named Tristan (Finn Wittrock), sets up a Tinder date with a man who is only known as the Lumberjack. The Lumberjack quickly becomes a meal for Tristan and the Countess, who turn him into a Lumberjack sandwich.
Let’s just say it’s a very memorable death in a season filled with memorable deaths….
After his demise, and thanks to the hotel’s mysterious powers, the Lumberjack’s ghost remains trapped in the hotel forever. That’s great news for fans because he shows up again toward the end of the series in some of my favorite scenes of the entire season.
If you’ve seen Cook’s beard appreciation post on Instagram, you can see the beard in action during his time on American Horror Story and it’s something to behold.
Of course, Passionflix fans are eager to see him bring Jesse Ward to life in the This Man trilogy so the beard won’t be making a comeback any time soon.
As the Passionflix team continues work on the This Man movie, due in December 2022, it’s fun to look back at Cook’s role in American Horror Story: Hotel. It’s a memorable performance in a very memorable season. You can stream episodes of Hotel on Hulu.
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