The Untold Truth Of Evan Peters

Best known for his performances on "American Horror Story," Evan Peters is the most credited actor on the cult anthology series. As of 2022, he's appeared in 100 episodes! Throughout his many years on the show, Peters played a variety of characters, ranging from a guy with lobster hands to downright wicked villains. Then in 2020, the actor got a taste of what it feels like to be a real-life villain. Peters made waves after retweeting a video that showed a policeman "tackling protestors who were standing up against the murder of George Floyd," Us Weekly reported. Peters said he retweeted by mistake, promptly removed the post, and apologized. Some fans didn't buy the blunder, while others defended the actor, saying he rarely posts on social media.

Prior to the incident, Peters amassed quite a resume, despite only being in his early 30s. He started professionally acting at a young age, though not for the reason you might think. An early review likened Peters to a "mix of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo and Jack White," MLive recalled. Do you see the similarities? His looks and personality worked well for the women in Peters' life, including a few famous girlfriends.

Was it love at first fright when you saw Peters on "American Horror Story"? Or did he hook you in as Quicksilver in the "X-Men" franchise? Regardless of how you came to know of him, Peters is a fascinating individual with an interesting life story. This is his untold truth.

The road to leading man started with humble beginnings for Evan Peters. The young man made his way to Hollywood and started as a bright-eyed youngster in commercials. And he starred in a lot of clips. According to the actor's IMDb, he appeared in ads for Papa John's Pizza, Moviefone.com, and Albertsons. Buzzfeed dug up actual clips with the actor, including commercials for Sony PlayStation, Progressive Insurance, and Corn Pops. In an article by MLive, Peters' mom, Julie, said the ads kickstarted a busy year for her son, which included "four or five episodes of 'Phil of the Future.'" Offers "just kept coming," his mom explained. "At the end of two years, he was able to pitch in and pay for some of the bills."

Peters recalled to W one of his more memorable appearances as a child actor: An ad that involved candy. In a commercial for Sour Patch Kids, the theme literally followed the tagline, "First they're sour, then they're sweet." Peters remembered, "the Sour Patch Kid throws eggs at me, at my front door, and then comes over and gives me a hug at the end." And just like with his PlayStation commercial, Peters mistakenly thought producers might sweeten up the deal. "They don't give you anything. I thought I was gonna get Sour Patch Kids, I thought I was gonna get a PlayStation. I didn't get anything." But at least he found one positive. "I thought they were fun," he remembered.

The 2004 movie "Sleepover" features early appearances by future stars, including Steve Carell less than a year before his debut on "The Office," a very young Brie Larson, and Evan Peters as a young skateboarder. Despite the perceived cool of the extreme sport, his character wanted "all the girls to fall for him, but unfortunately he goes about things the wrong way," About.com summarized. Peters admitted he was terrible at skateboarding, so producers "actually had to hire a guy named Stacey Lowery who is a professional skateboarder to come and try and teach [him] how to skateboard."

Though it may have been overkill to learn professionally, Peters claimed the coaching was mildly successful. "I could actually ride it a little bit," he shared. Unfortunately for Peters, however, his co-stars witnessed the growing pains that came along with learning a new sport. He admitted his worst accident occurred during filming. "I was skateboarding up and I just completely ate it right in the middle of the take," he explained, though he played off the incident. "It hurt, but you bounce back," Peters recalled.

While filming the 2012 film "Adult World," Emma Roberts and Evan Peters met, and sparks flew — at least in the eyes of their castmates, that is. In an interview on "Chelsea Lately" (via E! News), Roberts confessed, "Everyone thought we dated on the movie and we didn't, not for a long time after." She said during production, Peters "literally didn't speak to [her] the entire movie," adding, "He thought I was so weird." But Peters made the first move afterward. "He texted me and then we got together," Roberts recalled.

Peters shared his side of the story in an interview with Vulture. "I had a crush on her, too," he admitted. But as a self-proclaimed introvert, he continued, "I tried to talk to her a few times," but in his opinion, "I kept saying the wrong thing. I was really kind of awkward and stupid." More specifically, his attempts at teasing his fellow actor failed in spectacular fashion. "Emma didn't get that I was joking so it just kind of came off all wrong."

The two ended up dating and truly like a fire, Roberts and Peters burned brightly only to then burn out — on multiple occasions. The "two have shared more drama than some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters," PopSugar summarized. This included "at least two breakups, one nasty domestic violence incident, makeups, deleting all social media traces of each other, sharing the screen on 'American Horror Story,' and a broken engagement."

The real reason Evan Peters decided to become an actor started with an innocent, childhood crush. The objects of his affection? The Olsen twins. In an article for MLive, Peters talked about starting acting classes as a teenager living in Flint, Michigan. "I got bit by the acting bug," he said, then hilariously quipped, "But mostly I wanted to meet the Olsen twins." 

The path to catch up with the twins from "Full House" seemed clear to the young man. "They were 15, I was 15 ... the acting thing seemed like the best way," he said. Jump forward many years, and Peters' big moment finally arrived. At the premiere for the twins' final movie, "New York Minute," Peters confessed, "I started sweating and freaking out and froze. I couldn't meet them. I blew it."

In an interview clip for W Magazine, Peters confirmed the Olsen twins "kind of got me out to LA. I was like 'I got to meet them.'" And while he failed at his first shot, he did get to meet Ashely Olsen. "She's sweet," Peters said. "I was a little nervous, but she was cool. By that time, my crush had changed and moved on."

Evan Peters was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but when he was a young teenager, his family moved to Michigan. Once in The Wolverine State, Evan began to blossom and turned to acting as a hobby. According to an article by MLive, Evan, and his mother, Julie, traveled to Florida together for a talent conference. He reportedly "won a number of acting awards," and, as his mother remembered, "everybody seemed to think he had something." 

With this confirmation in hand, the entire family visited California to further explore a career for Evan. The Peters patriarch told MLive, "the talent manager said that a year was enough time to know" if his son could make it in the competitive entertainment industry. Fortunately, things worked out — just like a true Hollywood movie. "In one week, Evan Peters signed with a manager and an agent and began auditions," the article dished. Eventually, he landed a role in the flick "Clipping Adam," which "earned him a Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actor award."

Once he made it out to Los Angeles, Evan Peters immediately started appearing in commercials, films, and TV shows as a talented actor. And once he landed a major role in "American Horror Story," it appeared Peters could do it all. That is until he showed off his surprising vocal chops. In an episode for the show, Peters covered Nirvana's famous song "Come as You Are" — though the clip was a long way from an a cappella performance. According to Vanity Fair, "Peters's voice has been put through some kind of process to make him sound eerily like Cobain." During a sit down with Interview, the actor revealed what it was like to channel his inner rock star. He said, "I was both excited and nervous!" Peters confessed it was all fun and games while practicing for the scene. "But shooting it, the whole music video vibe was very weird and I felt uncomfortable in my own skin."

He nailed the scene, and it appeared he would receive another chance to show off his vocal abilities once the series cast Lady Gaga. Cosmopolitan asked Peters about singing alongside his famous co-star. "There's going to be no singing this year," the actor revealed. Apparently, creator Ryan Murphy "was very adamant about that. No singing."

After splitting with Emma Roberts, Evan Peters became one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors. Then, in October 2019, dating rumors between Peters and singer Halsey began to appear. "According to a source, the celebrity pair [are] happily attached at the hip," E! News reported. Allegedly, Peters stayed with Halsey at her house, and an insider claimed the two were "very happy together" and "don't want to be apart."

After the news, fans discovered Halsey's attraction to the actor seemed to potentially start way back in 2012, People dished. In one of her tweets, the singer said, "Seriously Evan Peters stop making me attracted to alleged sociopaths and accused murderers." In 2020, the two appeared to be together for Valentine's Day. Halsey posted a cute photo of the pair in Switzerland, "herself sitting atop Peters' shoulders in the pool."

Suddenly, however, just a month later, the singer "removed all of the photos she previously posted of herself and Peters except her Valentine's Day post." Halsey eventually moved on, entering a relationship and having a son with film producer Alev Aydin.

Even though he's spent the majority of his career portraying monstrous individuals, Evan Peters' fans are younger than you may think. In an interview for Cosmopolitan, the actor talked about his huge fan base of mainly teenage girls. As an adult himself, some characteristics of his fans' age group like "selfies and selfie sticks" make Peters happy. "I think they're kind of hilarious," he admitted. That being said, other aspects are completely lost on him. In regards to Instagram — at least as of 2015 for the interview — "I never really understood it; I still don't get it. And I'm not very good at it."

Not trying to be pigeonholed as a boomer, Peters decided to show off his knowledge about youth culture. "Yeah, I know about bae," he said. "It's like babe but it's bae. It's with no b." Even better? Peters approved of the word. "I guess it's easier to say," he mused. Although easier to say, the numerous shortened words like "amaze" and "totes" mildly perplexed him. "That's the thing too, teenage girls don't finish words," he explained. 

So if you happen to run into Peters, please be careful about your choice of words. "I can't even with 'I can't even,'" he declared.

One of Evan Peters' earliest childhood memories involved the horror genre — perhaps alluding to his future career. "My older sister showed me 'Hellraiser' when I was like four, and 'Friday the 13th.' She kind of scarred me," the actor recalled to W in 2018. The experience, however, did teach him to watch these macabre movies with a buddy "because you're together in this scary situation. It makes all that more fun." 

It looks like Peters' sister definitely sparked his interest in spooky TV shows. In an interview for Hunger, he recalled as a third-grader watching Nickelodeon at night "where [he] got really into 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?'"

Despite his routine acquaintance with the genre, nothing could have prepared the celeb for working with Ryan Murphy on his series "American Horror Story." "Shooting that show is absolute insanity," he revealed to GQ during a 2018 interview. What's more, Peters admitted to Issue that he used to be scared of horror movies. "But then, working on the show, I got desensitized — you discover, well, it's not real." Does this soften the frights for any scaredy-cats out there? Or have you always been a fan of the horror genre?

As a child actor, Evan Peters started off making friends with his fellow castmates. He told Esquire Singapore that, outside of filming the Disney series "Phil of the Future," the cast was "just a group of friends." As he explained, "we all hang out, and go to The Grove [mall] for karaoke." 

As the actor grew older, however, suddenly his schedule got a lot more hectic. Peters told Interview that he found it challenging to hang out with castmates after a long day of filming. "You try to go to dinner and see movies and hang out with friends, but after an 18-hour day," he said the most appealing thing was "to chill out, watch some TV, decompress and let go of the day."

Peters devoted his youthful energy to a multitude of projects. "I had this dream of becoming an actor and dedicating myself fully to it," he admitted in an interview with Deadline. Yet even the most dedicated actors can feel burned out by the constant grind. "We're shooting insane hours, I'm learning lines when I have a few hours that I'm not working, and it's absolute madness." It looks like Peters' hardworking ethic spilled over into his personal life, too, in a negative way. "I lost touch with a lot of my family and friends, even my fiancé[e] [at the time]. It was hard to come home at night and put it all to rest," he confessed. 

While filming "American Horror Story," the strangest aspect for Evan Peters wasn't portraying psychotic characters. Instead, the weirdest parts to shoot were the various sex scenes. "They're very embarrassing," he told GQ, adding, "especially when you're in your twenties and you're still awkward." He recalled a particularly traumatic scene as the character Mr. March, which "was just horrific and weird and sad." At that point, Peters had already been on the series for five seasons, so he said, "I was more comfortable with the crew, so it's like, okay, I guess my butt will be out." 

The actor spent another time constantly getting out of a bathtub while naked. Though he had an industry standard covering, this didn't quite reassure Peters. "So there's a 50/50 chance your c*** is going to be coming out. It's a little gnarly," he revealed. And sure enough, one time, the protective equipment didn't quite handle the task at large. Recalling an embarrassing moment, Peters said part of his manhood was "hanging out in front of Jessica Lange, and it's like, this is not normal."

In another awkward moment, Peters and Emma Roberts were called upon to film a group sex scene. While perhaps a dream scenario for some, Peters told Vulture it was his most awkward scene. "Because Emma and I are dating and then poor Taissa [Farmiga]'s there and we had to get together and do this thing and it's weird," he recalled.

Having been in the entertainment industry since a teenager, Evan Peters has amassed a sizable fortune. Between commercials, movies, and his long-term run on "American Horror Story," the actor has secured scary-good contracts. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Peters' net worth is $4 million as of 2022.

Since moving to Los Angeles, Peters is no stranger to the life of the rich and famous. But you can't take the midwesterner out of the man. The actor revealed a few simple pleasures that he's used his fortune on. In an interview for Cosmopolitan, Peters revealed, "I have knitted before, but I gave that up." Another favorite pastime is going to the movies. But not necessarily just for the film part. "I'm a huge popcorn guy — I don't care where we are as long as the popcorn is up to snuff," he told Issue. Peters elaborated, "I could watch the biggest pile of crap and still have a s***-eating grin on my face the whole time as long as I'm eating that large popcorn."

Evan Peters was used to creepy moments in the "American Horror Story" anthology, so by the time the fifth season called "Hotel" rolled around, producer Ryan Murphy had a different role in mind for the actor. "Usually Evan is the tortured good guy or the tortured ingénue. But this year we decided to go a very different route and just make him perhaps the worst human being to have ever lived," Murphy told Entertainment Weekly. Peters' heinous character, named Mr. March, was "loosely inspired by HH Holmes and that hotel of horrors he made," Murphy added, referencing the real life serial killer. Nearly seven years later, Peters then seemed like a natural pick to portray a serial killer once again, this time as the non-fictional title character in the Netflix series "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story." To prepare for the role, series creator Murphy had Peters watch the famous Stone Phillips interview with Dahmer from the '90s. Peters confessed, "It was so jaw-dropping that it all really happened."

Peters admitted this role was one of the hardest things he ever had to do because "I wanted it to be very authentic but in order to do that, I was gonna have to go to really dark places and stay there for an extended period of time." The actor credited the cast and crew for keeping the mood lighter on set while he recreated many horrific events for the series.

Fans were shocked when Evan Peters appeared in the Marvel series "WandaVision" for several reasons. First, his character called himself Pietro, just like the Pietro Maximoff (aka Quicksilver) he played in the "X-Men" films by 20th Century Fox. This crossover led some fans to believe "WandaVision" was hinting at joining the MCU multiverse. Even his co-star Elizabeth Olsen was surprised. "When we heard that Evan was going to do it, my mind was blown. 'This is the first time we're merging! This is crazy!' And then to use it in such a clever way as Jac does was so satisfying," Olsen told Variety, referencing the head writer and executive producer of the series, Jac Schaeffer. The second shock came in the series finale, when viewers learned Peters' character was not a superhero at all but just a normal man, Glamour recapped. To keep all the details secretive, producers needed to be sure Peters' involvement was hidden. The actor happened to be filming "Mare of Easttown" at the same time "WandaVision" was filming. "That was hilarious. I'd actually be brought to (the 'WandaVision') set in a cloak and an umbrella," Peters revealed to The Wrap.

None of this was especially new to Peters, who already had experience with keeping tight lips on "American Horror Story." "It's a very secretive show, even when you're working on it. They don't want details to get out and ruin the surprise," Peters told Issue Magazine.

As of 2021, Evan Peters was in 100 episodes of "American Horror Story" throughout his 10 years on the spooky TV series, per IMDb. Though he portrayed an impressive number of characters over the years, as recapped by Screen Rant, and built up a dedicated fan base, Peters never received a nomination from the Emmy Awards. That is, until his role as Detective Colin Zabel in "Mare of Easttown" earned him his first Emmy nomination and win for Outstanding Supporting Actor. In his acceptance speech, Peters thanked his parents, Ryan Murphy, and in a scream of joy, "Kate Winslet for being Kate Winslet!"

After the ceremony, Peters elaborated about Winslet and said of his achievement, "I definitely wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. The best scene partner I could have ever asked for," per ET. The actor must have been especially surprised, since he didn't think his performance in the series was good at first. One scene with a drunken Zabel was particularly memorable. "I could tell it was special when we were shooting that thing. ... I remember hugging [Peters] at the end. It was emotional," the series director Craig Zobel told Vanity Fair. As Peters remembered it, he was emotional and crying because "I thought we didn't get the scene," followed by a moment where Peters thought his acting days were over. Fortunately, audiences loved it. "I was surprised ... I thought I failed miserably," Peters admitted.

While Evan Peters has played some truly disturbing characters in TV and film, he is both professional and goofy in real life. Another positive side of the true Peters is his commitment to helping others with his time and resources. For example, he twice worked with the fundraising platform Omaze to support various charities. This included working with his castmates from "American Animals" to raise funds for Transylvania University. In another Omaze event, Peters offered donors the chance to have lunch with him, in addition to a walk-on role in "American Horror Story." He said this all benefited "the incredible work of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The CHLA has been there for our friend Ryan Murphy in a huge way, and this is a great way to give back to them," via iFunny.

On several occasions, Peters donated his personal shoes — including running shoes and hand-painted sneakers — to be auctioned off for the Small Steps Project, an organization in the United Kingdom that provides footwear and aid to children in need. Another cause important to him is funding cancer research. He became an ambassador for Stand Up To Cancer and released a video to create awareness for the organization, especially with a focus on head and neck cancers. "Today and every day, I stand up for my friend Tony who we lost way too soon to esophageal cancer," Peters said, before urging viewers to learn more and donate to the charitable organization.