Cody Fern

Cody Fern (born 6 July 1988) is an Australian actor and director. Following his feature debut in The Tribes of Palos Verdes (2017), he portrayed murder victim David Madson in the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018). Later that year, Fern played Michael Langdon in American Horror Story: Apocalypse. He also appeared in the final season of the Netflix drama House of Cards as Duncan Shepherd. In 2019, he returned to American Horror Story for its ninth season 1984 playing Xavier Plympton.

Cody Fern
Fern in June 2019
Born (1988-07-06) 6 July 1988
Southern Cross, Western Australia, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Alma materCurtin University of Technology
Occupation
  • Actor
  • Director
  • Screenwriter
  • Model
Years active2008–present

Early life and education

Fern was born on 6 July 1988 in Southern Cross in rural Western Australia.[1][2][3] He attended boarding school at Merredin Senior High School, and graduated from Curtin University of Technology with an Honours Degree in Commerce in 2009.[4][5]

Career

Fern had initially considered a career in finance before pursuing acting. According to an interview with Anthem Magazine, he hated his life while working in finance. He said, “This is not what I want my life to be. But I’m here and I’m doing it and I’m trying to fit in.” It was the Cate Blanchett-starring movie dilogy Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age that made him want to become an actor.[6]

Fern has trained with well-known acting coaches, including Ellen Burstyn, Larry Moss, and Susan Batson. Fern played the lead role of Albert in the National Theatre of Great Britain's production War Horse,[7][8] which received critical acclaim.[9][10]

In 2011, Fern played Romeo in Shakespeare WA's production of Romeo and Juliet, Lindsay in the Black Swan Theatre Company's Jandamarra, and the Earl of Southampton in the world premiere production of The Enchanters at the State Theatre of Western Australia.[11] He has appeared in a number of short films, including the Western Australian Screen Award-winning picture Still Take You Home (2010) and The Last Time I Saw Richard (2014).

In 2014, Fern was the recipient of the annual Heath Ledger Scholarship by Australians in Film, an award aimed at financially and professionally supporting actors of Australian descent. This includes, besides a cash fund, a two-year scholarship at Los Angeles' Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre and mentorship from the father of the late actor Heath Ledger.[12]

He appeared as Jim Mason in The Tribes of Palos Verdes and wrote, directed and starred in the short film Pisces opposite Keir Gilchrist in 2017.[13][14] In a Los Angeles Times sit-down interview, Fern had planned to take an 18-month hiatus from acting to focus on Pisces when Versace came along.[15]

In 2018, Fern made his television debut in the acclaimed FX true crime anthology series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as David Madson which earned him the Gold Derby TV Award for Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor and a nomination for Breakthrough Performer of the Year.[16] He was later announced to star in the series regular role of Duncan Shepherd on the final season of House of Cards.[17][18] The same year, Fern portrayed the Antichrist Michael Langdon in the eighth season of FX horror anthology series American Horror Story, titled Apocalypse.[19] In 2019, he played Xavier Plympton in the ninth season of the show, American Horror Story: 1984.[20]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Hole in the Ground Zach Short film
2010 Still Take You Home Milk
2010 Drawn Home Steve
2011 3AM
2014 The Last Time I Saw Richard Richard
2017 The Tribes of Palos Verdes Jim Mason
2017 Pisces Charlie Short film; also director and writer
2018 The Great Darkened Days Travelling Salesman

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Christmas Eve, 1914 Arnold Chapman Television film
2018 The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story David Madson Recurring role; 4 episodes
2018 American Horror Story: Apocalypse Michael Langdon Main role; 9 episodes
2018 House of Cards Duncan Shepherd Main role; 6 episodes
2019 American Horror Story: 1984 Xavier Plympton Main role; 9 episodes
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References
  1. "How old is Cody Fern?". PopBuzz. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  2. Hughes, Jason (12 June 2014). "Heath Ledger Scholarship Awarded to 'War Horse' Stage Actor Cody Fern". The Wrap.
  3. Dow, Steve (21 March 2013). "Cody's calling". The Age.
  4. "Cody Fern ready for the ride of his life in War Horse". Sally Bennett. Sunday Herald Sun, 15 October 2012
  5. "Acting added up for Cody". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 9 March 2013.
  6. "Screen Test: Cody Fern | Anthem Magazine". anthemmagazine.com. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  7. Parris, Simon (1 January 2013). "War Horse [Melbourne] review".
  8. Nicholas, Jessica (30 November 2012). "From the heart of the beast". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. Woodhead, Cameron (31 December 2012). "Brilliant puppetry wins hearts in a canter". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. Dow, Steve (20 March 2013). "War Horse star ordered to rest after injury". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. "Cody Fern | Shakespeare WA".
  12. Holman, Jordyn; Holman, Jordyn (13 June 2014). "Q&A: Heath Ledger Scholarship Recipient Talks Future in Film". Variety. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  13. Bugbee, Teo (30 November 2017). "Review: Strong Performances Anchor 'The Tribes of Palos Verdes'" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. "Screen Test: Cody Fern | Anthem Magazine". anthemmagazine.com.
  15. "Cody Fern was going to take 18-month hiatus from acting when 'The Assassination of Gianni Versace' came along". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  16. Eng, Daniel Montgomery,Marcus James Dixon,Chris Beachum,Joyce; Montgomery, Daniel; Dixon, Marcus James; Beachum, Chris; Eng, Joyce (6 September 2018). "2018 Gold Derby TV Awards winners: 'Versace' and 'Handmaid's Tale' are top winners, but 'Game of Thrones' takes Best Drama". GoldDerby. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  17. Evans, Greg (8 February 2018). "Cody Fern Lands Series Regular Role On Netflix's House of Cards". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  18. Variety Staff (27 August 2018). "House of Cards Unveils First Look at Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear Characters Inspired by Koch Brothers". Variety. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  19. Otterson, Joe (26 July 2018). "American Horror Story Season 8 Casts Cody Fern as Michael Langdon and he's the best actor in that season". Variety. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  20. "Meet the American Horror Story: 1984 Characters: Who's Who Among the Star-Studded Cast". E! Online. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
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