Credit: Far Out / Alamy
Wed 27 May 2026 17:45, UK
The industry has changed significantly in the past ten years, as there is no longer a significant distinction between television and film.
The budgets are often comparable, given that an average episode of House of the Dragon or Stranger Things is far more expensive than a majority of the independent films released every year. More interesting is that “movie stars” have no qualms about doing work for the small screen. While there used to be a stigma about going between the mediums, there are now A-listers like Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Mahershala Ali, Mark Ruffalo, Kate Winslet, and Frances McDormand who have done some of their best work on HBO shows.
Sarah Paulson is an actor who became prominent on television right before this era took off, and thus didn’t get the film roles that she deserved. Even though Paulson’s work on American Crime Story and American Horror Story is amazing, she hasn’t had many star vehicles thrown her way. However, Paulson did get the opportunity to appear in a future classic when she was cast in 12 Years a Slave, the historical drama from director Steven McQueen that ended up winning the Academy Award for ‘Best Picture.’
American slavery had never been depicted in such a realistic way, making 12 Years a Slave a particularly gruelling shoot. Although McQueen depicts various forms of evil that exist within the American South during this period in history, Paulson has a unique role as Mary Epps, the wife of the plantation owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). Edwin frequently sexually assaults the slave Patsy (Lupita Nyong’o), and Mary’s jealousy leads her to take out her rage on other slaves on the plantation.
While playing such a nasty role was an emotional burden to carry, Paulson said that being in a project as important as 12 Years a Slave boosted her confidence as an actor.
“To me, I ‘made it’ when I got the part in 12 Years a Slave and played a really hideous woman in an unapologetic way,” Paulson said. “I know some friends of mine who said they refused to play that part because she was so despicable. That was totally perplexing to me in a way that is sort of unforgivable.”
Paulson found that getting a role of this magnitude was important at this stage of her career, when she had feared that there were great parts that had been passing her by.
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
“I muscled a lot of what I’ve achieved by sheer force of will and relentless determination,” Paulson said. “I wasn’t hearing a lot of ‘everything’s going to be fine, you’re going to have everything you want.’ I would get one job, and then I wouldn’t work again for two years.”
Concluding, “Or I would get one great job, and it would very quickly become a nothing thing, or I would lose it last minute to someone who then went on to win the Oscar.”
That Paulson had only a small role in 12 Years a Slave wasn’t a concern, as the film also included bit parts for such famed actors as Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Kenneth Williams, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, and Storm Reid. Her performance is part of a film that will be remembered and celebrated for many years to come.
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