Ryan Murphy compiled a star-studded cast for his new summer slasher The Shards.
Based on author Bret Easton Ellis‘ novel of the same name, The Shards is set in Los Angeles in 1981 and follows “a 17-year-old version of Ellis during his final year at the elite Buckley prep school.” His world is upended by the arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory, whose “unsettling presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler.”
The Shards is the only book of Ellis’ to feature himself as a character, but he previously issued a disclaimer stating that all the characters featured in The Shards are fictional — apart from himself.
Igby Rigney, who was tapped to play Ellis, spoke with Us about approaching the challenge.
“Ryan was really fun in the way that he directed us where he would have us do multiple takes multiple ways. So we were never clued in on which take he was going to use,” he recalled. “And then I’m sure some of those takes got combined to make it extra confusing.”
Rigney continued: “Getting to have the narration sometimes was a little challenging on set though because everybody around me is having fun and I’m staring deeply into the distance thinking about this big long paragraph I have but I’m not saying it out loud.”
Keep scrolling to meet the cast of The Shards:
Igby Rigney
Rigney plays the real life Ellis in the show based loosely on the author’s high school years.
Homer Gere
Homer, who is the son of Richard Gere and Carey Lowell, booked the role of Robert Mallory. The Shards follows Bret’s fascination with Robert, who arrives in town during his senior year of high school.
Graham Campbell
Campbell will portray Thom Wright a.k.a Bret’s friend and Susan’s boyfriend.
Hayes Warner
The Shards will feature Warner in the role of Debbie Schaffer. In addition to dating Bret, Debbie’s family dynamics are explored in The Shards.
Wes Bentley
Speaking of Debbie’s family, Bentley reunited with Murphy again to collaborate on The Shards. Bentley scored the role of Terry Schaffer, who is Debbie’s dad and Liz’s husband.
Kaia Gerber
Kaia — the daughter of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber — is front and center as Susan Reynolds.
Evan Rachel Wood
Wood’s character Liz Schaffer is Debbie’s mother and Terry’s wife. After having her moment in Hollywood, The Shards shows Liz struggling in her new normal while still hoping to make a big comeback.
Jordan Roth
Roth portrays Steven Reinhardt, who works for Terry but has dreams of his own.
Owen Painter
Based on Ellis’ novel, Painter is playing Matt Kellner, who has a relationship with Bret.
Daniel Dale
The same goes for Dale’s Ryan Vaughn, who shares a connection with Bret.
