Sarah Paulson makes difficult women convincing without asking us to like them. Television has given her the bigger parts, but we value her most for the restraint that makes her cruelty in 12 Years a Slave so disturbing.
Fi1m perspective
As Mary Epps in 12 Years a Slave (2013), Sarah Paulson makes cruelty look like something a person can choose without much trouble. Michael Fassbender’s Edwin Epps is volatile; she needs less outward exertion to be effective beside him. We were horrified by how little Mary seems troubled by her own cruelty. Steve McQueen makes the suffering personal, and Paulson never softens the behaviour of one of the people responsible.
Television has given her more substantial opportunities. After the series and supporting film work of the 1990s, American Horror Story (2011) brought wider attention and a continuing collaboration with Ryan Murphy, playing different characters across its seasons. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) gave her the leading role of Marcia Clark. The limited opportunities to lead films, despite her television acclaim, seem wasteful when a supporting performance such as Mary Epps can register so strongly.
In Carol (2015), she plays Abby Gerhard, a supporting part in Todd Haynes’s romance led by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Haynes trusts small gestures to carry feeling, though the careful manners sometimes keep us at a distance. Our enthusiasm for the film rests chiefly on its leads, and there is no need to claim it for Paulson. It is nevertheless a useful film to consider alongside 12 Years a Slave: her supporting film work deserves attention even as television gives her more prominent roles.
Paulson has described Murphy’s demands as operatic and credited him with encouraging her to attempt things she had not known she could do. That helps explain the attraction of their long partnership, particularly for an actor frequently cast as intense or unlikeable women. We would still be wary of treating each conspicuous change of character as proof of a better performance. In McQueen’s film, Mary’s cruelty needs no additional display of temper to make it frightening. Start there, provided you are prepared for the violence, and notice how little Paulson has to insist.
Biography
Sarah Paulson is an American actress. Born on 17 December 1974 in Tampa, Florida, she trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began her career in New York stage productions.
She appeared in the television series American Gothic (1995–1996) and Jack & Jill (1999–2001), and later starred as Harriet Hayes in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007). Paulson is known for her recurring roles in American Horror Story (2011–), and for her performances in the films 12 Years a Slave (2013) as Mary Epps, Carol (2015), The Post (2017) and Ocean's Eight (2018). In 2026 she portrayed Aileen Wuornos in the series Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
