Lange Discusses AMERICAN HORROR STORY Musical Numbers & More

Two-time Academy Award-winning actress and American Horror Story star Jessica Lange discusses her pivotal roles on the Ryan Murphy-created anthology series thus far and looks ahead to the new season, kicking off in the Fall, plus touches upon some of her stage and film work, as well, in a new interview.

Lange reveals of her collaboration with Murphy on the horror-themed FX mega-hit that she sometimes voices her opinions on character and plot motivations while shooting onset - especially when she feels that the shocks go too far.

"I think after the second scene of bare-as*es and caning... 'OK, we've done this. This is established.' You know, 'We don't need this as a running motif through the whole season!'" Lange says with a laugh.

"That was one thing I did - I made an announcement onset, 'No more caning!'" she adds mischievously.

Lange also comments on the internet age and the global success of her musical performance in Season Two, recounting, "We're in a whole other brave new world here with the internet... when someone explained to me that the little piece that we did, 'The Name Game', went viral - I didn't even know what that was, actually!"

As for her other musical moments in S2, Lange adds, "This is the other great thing about Ryan [Murphy]."

"You say to him something like... 'Do you think you could find a way that I could wear something sexy and sing and dance?'," Lange remembers of her suggestion to the series creator.

"So, then, suddenly, the backstory sort of becomes this woman is a second-rate nightclub singer, in the forties," Lange illustrates.

"Then, after I did that, I said, 'This is so much fun! Could we find another place to do that?' And, then, comes 'The Name Game', you know, out of the blue - then we're in sixties, kind of Dusty Springfield-mode," she says of the major musical moment in S2.

"It's great working that way... I mean, I can't think of another instance where, like, I've been actually able to say, 'Hey, call me crazy, but I'd really like to do this - I'd really like to do a song and dance."

And, boy, did she!

"When we did this number... everybody was having such a wonderful time dancing and singing. It was a lovely day on a very grim set, I have to tell you," she adds with a twinkle in her eye.

Also, Lange comments on her new feature film THERESE, based on Emile Zola's THERESE RAQUIN, and how it relates to her previous films FRANCES and THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (screenplay by David Mamet).

"I guess if you do this long enough you end up repeating yourself somehow," she says.

"It's about passion, it's about murder - it's a dark story," she says of THERESE. "I think it's going to be a very interesting film."

As for S3 of AMERICAN HORROR STORY? "They've just sent me the first two scripts... we've set it in New Orleans. It's about witches - it's about witchcraft. Other than that I honestly don't know much more about it."

As for sharing the screen with Kathy Bates, Patti LuPone, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson and the other famous female co-stars in the new season? "It certainly is an interesting group of actors - again," she says.

Plus, Lange touches upon her new children's book, her passion for photography and even more on AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN in this extensive chat.

View the entire video interview with Lange by Tom O'Neill from GoldDerby below.