During the Gold Derby interview, Evan Peters described the challenges of playing Jimmy Darling. For the entire "Freak Show" shoot, Peters had to wear prosthetic hands to give him the "lobster claws." As he explained, these prosthetics caused him a lot of trouble because they didn't actually stay on his hands very well. Beyond that, they were extremely fragile. They tried a few different materials, including silicon and rubber, but they were so delicate, Peters interacting with anything would mess them up.
Beyond that, though, it was important to take the role seriously and understand what Peters was trying to portray by playing a character with ectrodactyly. This, of course, led him to contact Jason Black. "There's a lot of pain involved and a lot of interesting things going on with his feet," Peters said, recounting his discussions with Black. First and foremost, it was important for Jimmy to convey that constant struggle with physical pain.
"We didn't get into the feet too much on the show, but I tried to sort of incorporate that into the role," Peters explained. It was important for him to take everything that he'd learned and be as authentic with it as possible.
Peters also identified how tough it was just to portray a character with such a condition, so it really helped open his eyes to what actually living as a special abilities person would be like. His time playing Jimmy on "AHS: Freak Show" and being part of such a diverse cast really helped him empathize with these individuals. "It sort of allowed me to really be on their side," he said.
