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 appeared in the final season of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

drama ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...

'' as Duncan Shepherd. In 2019, he returned to ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

'' for its ninth season ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'', playing Xavier Plympton. In 2021, he guest-starred in the tenth season, subtitled ''

Double Feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

'' as Valiant Thor, and has appeared in two episodes of the spin-off series '' American Horror Stories''.

Early life and education

Fern was born on 6 July 1988 in

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

in rural

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. He attended

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

at Merredin Senior High School, and graduated from

Curtin University of Technology Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister ...

with an

Honours Degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, ...

in Commerce in 2009.

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 Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

-starring film duology ''

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

'' and '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' that made him want to become an actor. Fern has trained with acting coaches, including

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...

, Larry Moss, and

Susan Batson Susan Batson is an American Film producer, producer, actress, author, coaching, acting coach, and a life member of the Actors Studio. Batson graduated from Boston Latin Academy, Girls Latin School and Emerson College. One of three sisters born t ...

. Fern played the

lead role A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...

of Albert in the

National Theatre of Great Britain The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

's production ''

War Horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot design ...

'', which received critical acclaim. In 2011, Fern played

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

in Shakespeare WA's production of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', Lindsay in the

Black Swan Theatre Company Black Swan State Theatre Company, formerly known as the Black Swan Theatre Company, is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth, Western Australia, Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western A ...

's ''Jandamarra'', and the

Earl of Southampton Earl of Southampton was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England. Its first creation came in 1537 in favour of the courtier William FitzWilliam. He was childless and the title became extinct on his death in 1542. Its s ...

in the world premiere production of ''The Enchanters'' at the State Theatre of Western Australia. He has appeared in a number of

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s, including the Western Australian Screen Award-winning film ''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 Australians in Film (AiF) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that serves the Australian community working in the film and television industry. It awards the annual Heath Ledger Scholarship to emerging Australian actors, as well as sev ...

, 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 actor

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...

. He appeared as Jim Mason in '' The Tribes of Palos Verdes'' and wrote, directed and starred in the short film ''Pisces'' opposite

Keir Gilchrist Keir David Peters Gilchrist (; born 28 September 1992) is a Canadian actor. On television, he portrayed Marshall Gregson on the Showtime comedy-drama '' United States of Tara'' (2009–2011) and headlined the Netflix comedy-drama ''Atypical'' ...

in 2017. In a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' sit-down interview, Fern had planned to take an 18-month hiatus from acting to focus on ''Pisces'' when ''Versace'' came along. In 2018, Fern made his television debut in the acclaimed FX

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

series '' The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story'' as David Madson which earned him the

Gold Derby Penske Media Corporation (PMC ) is an American mass media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including '' Variety'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Wom ...

TV Award for Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor and a nomination for Breakthrough Performer of the Year. He was announced to star in the series regular role of Duncan Shepherd on the final season of ''

''. The same year, Fern portrayed the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

Michael Langdon in the eighth season of FX horror anthology series ''

'', titled ''Apocalypse''. In 2019, Fern played Xavier Plympton in the ninth season of the show, '' American Horror Story: 1984''. In 2021, Fern portrayed Stan Vogel in '' American Horror Stories'' episode ''Feral,'' and Valiant Thor in ''

'', ''Double Feature: Death Valley''. In 2022, he portrayed Thomas Browne in ''American Horror Stories'' episode ''Milkmaids''. In 2022, Fern played a priest named Jacob in the film ''

Father Stu ''Father Stu'' is a 2022 biographical drama film starring Mark Wahlberg as Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-Catholic priest who lives with a progressive muscle disorder. The film is written and directed by Rosalind Ross in her directorial debut. T ...

''. In May 2025, it was announced that Cody Fern would be making his feature film directorial debut with ''Mother Courage'' starring Sarah Paulson, Toni Collette, Dianne Wiest and Toby Wallace. The film will be produced by Nancy Grant and is in pre-production.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fern, Cody Living people 21st-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian LGBTQ people Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian male stage actors Australian LGBTQ male actors Male actors from Western Australia People from Southern Cross, Western Australia Curtin University alumni 1988 births