It's hard to imagine Mark Consuelos having a dark side. His storybook marriage to morning chat show queen Kelly Ripa has lasted, drama free, for 16 years. Their three kids have managed to stay out of trouble and aren't tabloid darlings. He had a solid six-year run as Mateo Santos, Sr. on "All My Children" and seemed like he might even be a contender to replace Regis Philbin on his wife's series. Oh, and he's insanely handsome.
Mark Consuelos goes dark for Ryan Murphy
The beauty of acting is that it gives a person an outlet to explore different personalities that are unlike their own. Such is the case for Consuelos on "American Horror Story: Asylum." Ryan Murphy cast the cheery soap stud to play one of his mad house's darkest roles - the mad bully Spivey.
For his "AHS" performance, the daytime hunk has been transformed with bad teeth, messy hair and rumpled clothes. And that's on a good day. Like many inmates in the asylum, Dr. Arden got his hands on Spivey and transformed him into an unspeakably horrific creature.
The daytime hunk is enjoying playing against type
In a recent conference call interview Consuelos talked about playing contrary to his usual leading man stereotype, saying, "A lot of the stuff that I do, it's the exact opposite of that, and they want to make it as perfect as possible. I'm typically the guy that ends up kissing the girl at the end of the scene or at the end of the show… Not that that's not fantastic."
But Consuelos conceded he's enjoyed becoming almost unrecognizable on screen. And the transformation hasn't just been physical - it's routed deeply in an inner evil.
Note:This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network here to start publishing your own articles.
Consuelos finds freedom within his character's boundaries
Still the 41-year-old actor explained that while his character's flaws were clearly delineated, he had room to bring his own opinions to the role. He acknowledged that he found the perimeters that Murphy and his team set for him to be liberating.
Consuelos admitted, "There wasn't really a lot of gray area here. They wrote him very specifically, which I really appreciated. But just because they are very specific about those things, it doesn't mean that it limits you. Actually it makes those possibilities and some of your choices even greater."
What's yet to come for Spivey on a show where anything can happen is unclear to viewers. Tune in to "American Horror Story: Asylum" on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. Central on FX to see what's in store.
More from This Contributor:
Matthew Perry: The third time's the charm
Exclusive Interview: Carol Burnett shares details about her legendary show and characters
Ray Romano and Lauren Graham talk about their 'Parenthood' relationship
Note:This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network here to start publishing your own articles.
