Micaela Diamond Says ‘Grotesquerie’ Is “Going to Keep Surprising” Fans After The Show’s Big Plot Twists

Grotesquerie star Micaela Diamond says the show’s final three episodes are bound to keep flipping the narrative on its head, even after Episode 7 turned the tide for the story in a big way.

Talking with Decider following the major plot twist in “Unplugged,” the Broadway actress turned on-screen leading lady said that when it comes to Ryan Murphy — who serves as co-creator and executive producer on the FX series — nothing is out of the question.

At the conclusion of Episode 7, Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) was revealed to have been in a coma the whole time and imagining the events of the series up until that point. In her liminal dream, Lois had been investigating a series of murders at the hands of the deranged “Grotesquerie” killer. By her side all season has been Sister Megan (Diamond), a sweet albeit kooky nun with an affinity for the sick and twisted.

The most recent installment, however, shocked fans as the eponymous killer at the center of the story was unmasked by Lois to be Father Charlie (Nicholas Chavez), the priest who used the biblically-referential murders to bring sinners back to the church. Even better, just before the audience learns that Lois is the one in a coma — not her husband Marshall (Courtney B. Vance) as we have been told throughout the season — we discover that Sister Megan was an accomplice to the slayings.

The twist before the twist culminated in a knockdown drag-out scene between Lois and Megan, with Lois being stabbed repeatedly and Megan having a pot of boiling water dumped on her. It’s as Lois lay on the ground drifting out of consciousness that the story resets and shows the lead character’s true malady, i.e. her coma.

Now, the cast is finally able to talk about the big reveal and what comes next for their characters as the final episodes roll out on FX and Hulu.

DECIDER: I’m super excited to talk about the show, specifically Episode 7. Let’s talk about the Father Charlie plot twist. We get the reveal that it’s him, technically, in her [Lois Tryon’s] mind. What was your reaction to seeing that on the script? Did you know ahead of time? 

MICAELA DIAMOND: I went to my screen test, and it was just me and Ryan [Murphy], him giving me some notes. I had a few scenes in the first episode, he said, “Do you know what the rest of the show’s about?” And I said, “No, I don’t. I only got the first script.” And he proceeded to tell me a ten-minute dissertation on the rest of the episodes. And I just remember being like, “Wow.” I’s funny because I had just done a play, Sondheim’s last musical called Here We Are, which was also very surrealist in a way. I loved the idea of jumping into a world where the audience and the players don’t quite know which reality they’re in. I think that’s so interesting. And so I loved that reveal. I love Episode 7 and how you’re putting the pieces together, and you’re a little bit behind the actors. I love when they don’t quite give you all the answers. It’s not like Episode 7 started with the mask reveal in a way. 

You obviously have a long history working in theater. Did you use any of the skills that you have acquired over the years on stage in this show? Because especially in Episode 7, there’s a big dramatic moment when you pull the knife up, I thought, “That’s a theater actor right there.“

That’s so funny. Well, first of all, hearing someone say that you have a long history in theater is so nice. I can’t believe that I can say that now. I really have been in the theater world for a long time. I think of them as a kind of cross-training in a way. I think so much of the work I did on TV, I’ll approach my work differently next time in a play rehearsal or something. But I think, of course, there’s a part of theater that is taking risks and being comfortable enough to just go for it. I have definitely had practice in doing that, not necessarily as a nun with a knife in her hand. But I do think so much of the training I have at least is just to surprise yourself. But that’s the thing that I always hope to do on set. It’s the best feeling in the world. And with theater, you do the same thing eight times a week so to surprise yourself one night when you’re in month three of a six-month run is really thrilling. And what’s fun about TV is you get to do something — you get to play something different in every take. It’s almost like more controlled, but it’s scarier in a way. And I just tried to go for it totally. 

You also mentioned taking risks. What was it about this specific script? Because there are a lot of risks here. I was just reading an article with John Landgraf and Ryan Murphy where they say it’s a show that really hinges on plot twists and plot turns. What was it about this script that brought you to it? 

There were so many things. The first thing was Ryan Murphy called. That’s enough, honestly. But I think part of it is I like the idea of this female friendship that you meet in the pilot where these two people in another life, when they’re in another moment of their lives, would really never glance at each other. But for some reason, they need each other in this moment and give each other a shot and team up. I think you’re going to see that in the coming episodes, that friendship and how difficult it is to have a friendship in a working environment. I enjoy playing that with Niecy so much. I also think there’s something scary about reading, for example, on Episode 3, I believe it said, “She runs down a hallway, groping herself in a religious reverie.” And you’re like, “Don’t know how that’s going to go on the day.” That’s when you kind of disassociate as an actor a bit and have to kind of — I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure out. Do I somehow compartmentalize the fear but also use it in a way like she’s scared in that moment in some way? And Ryan is downstairs in a tent, going like, “Go off.” So you go off. You just figure out how to muster the courage. All I remember from that moment is after we did the first take being like, “Can someone just tell me if the biting of the curtain is working?” Because you’re so out of body in some of these horrific, gruesome, possessed moments that you just want somebody to go, “It’s reading,” or “it’s not.” It was funny, I’m watching Episode 7 along with everybody else and I’m watching myself circle the counter and I remember being like, “I think she should eat the carrot with mayo instead of hummus.” And everyone was like, “gross.” And I was like, “I know, but she’s crazy. Let’s go.” And then watching it with the music and the insert of the container, it’s so fun to watch it all come together. All those risks that we take in the moment to see what people in the line of editors end up choosing. 

There have been so many disturbing things in the show but the carrot with the mayo, that takes the cake. How much artistic liberty did Ryan and the team give you? Did they kind of just say, “Run wild with it. Try whatever,” or were you really honed in on a script? 

I would say we had some liberty. What’s great about the horror genre is you can justify a lot of choices. I would try things, and most of the time, they were great. I remember when we are in Episode 2, and Father Charlie and I are having a “will they, won’t they” moment and we got a note from Ryan on a walkie-talkie going, “50 percent weirder and more sensual.” And we were like, “Okay.” 50 percent is a lot, you know? I just looked at Nick [Nicholas Alexander Chavez] and I was like, “This is going to be different.” And he’s like, “go at it.” I remember spitting and putting my hand in his mouth. And they were like, “Moving on.” When you hear “moving on,” you’re like, “Alright, well, we did something right.” That wasn’t in the script, of course. But I think Ryan was like seeing something and then wanted to build on it and so we kept going and going. That moment of creation is so fun, actually, that’s why I do it.