Cody Fern (born 6 July 1988) is an Australian actor and director. Following his feature debut in ''

The Tribes of Palos Verdes ''The Tribes of Palos Verdes'' is a 2017 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy, from a screenplay by Karen Croner. It is based on the novel of the same name by Joy Nicholson. It stars Jennifer Garner, Maik ...

'' (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 Michael Langdon CBE (12 November 192012 March 1991) was a British bass opera singer. Langdon was born in Wolverhampton. He had six half brothers and sisters, the youngest, Maud being 19 years his senior. His father, Harry (birth name Frank Bi ...

in '' American Horror Story: Apocalypse''. He appeared in the final season of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

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 structu ...

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

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...

'' 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 Southeast A ...

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

Double Feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

'', and has appeared in two episodes of the spin-off series ''

American Horror Stories ''American Horror Stories'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for FX on Hulu. Premiered on July 15, 2021, the series serves as the third installment in the '' American Story'' media franc ...

''.

Early life and education

Fern was born on 6 July 1988 in

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

in rural

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. 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. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

at Merredin Senior High School, and graduated from

Curtin University of Technology Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, P ...

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, or ...

in Commerce in 2009."Cody Fern ready for the ride of his life in War Horse"
Sally Bennett. ''Sunday Herald Sun'', 15 October 2012

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 Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

-starring film duology ''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 complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

, Larry Moss, and

Susan Batson Susan Batson (born February 27, 1943, in Roxbury, Massachusetts) is an American producer, actress, author, acting coach, and a life member of the Actors Studio. Batson graduated from Girls Latin School and Emerson College. One of three sister ...

. Fern played the

lead role A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of 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 who typic ...

of Albert in the

National Theatre of Great Britain The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

's production ''War Horse'', 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 Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

in Shakespeare WA's production of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', Lindsay in the

Black Swan Theatre Company Black Swan State Theatre Company (formerly The Black Swan Theatre Company) is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, tours its productions reg ...

's ''Jandamarra'', and the

Earl of Southampton Earl of Southampton was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England. The 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. The se ...

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 any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

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 and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

. He appeared as Jim Mason in ''

'' 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 and musician. On television, he portrayed Marshall Gregson on the Showtime comedy-drama ''United States of Tara'' (2009–2011) and headlined the Netflix comedy-drama ' ...

in 2017. In a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' 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 nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

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 excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

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 digital 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'', '' ...

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, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form) 1 John ; . 2 John . ...

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 ''

'' 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. The ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video Games

References

External links

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