Most recently, the actor has been stealing scenes as Grayman, the stylist to the grande dames (including Kristen Wiig and Allison Janney) on Apple TV’s “Palm Royale” — and as Hamish Moss, a director on the rise on “American Horror Story: Delicate.” That is, he was on the rise before the April 3 episode, in which Moss met a gruesome death at the hands of Kim Kardashian’s devilish publicist.
Burgess spoke to Variety about the unique journey of a character actor, which finds him staying busy while always on the lookout for his next project. It also finds him occupying a place where he’s recognized, but perhaps not a household name. This leads to some unique situations, such as being asked who he’s wearing on a red carpet and not wanting to admit he “picked up a jacket off the discount rack at Men’s Warehouse.”
Burgess also discussed the people who advocated for him and helped his breakthrough, working with the greats and sleeping with — then being murdered by — Kardashian. Below are some things to know about the versatile actor.
He spent a day in bed with Kim Kardashian
In “AHS: Delicate,” Burgess’ Hamish is managing to succeed despite seeming pretty incompetent. That’s thanks to an agreement he has with Kardashian’s character Siobhan Corbyn, a high-powered publicist with some Satanic secrets. While the exact details of arrangement are vague, the two are shown following a steamy romp — a scene that took a full afternoon to shoot.
Burgess has never seen an episode of any of Kardashian’s reality shows, and wasn’t sure what to expect. The actor had been scolded early in his career for talking to the main actors on a set, and has learned to exercise caution when approaching stars. “But she was really friendly,” he says. “We talked about travel and Broadway shows and Shania Twain!” He also found himself impressed with her work ethic and talent. “She worked so hard. Someone in her position could just go to their trailer and just come out when needed, but she was so present. She was asking questions, sharing ideas and being really open and engaging.”
Burgess was particularly grateful for her kindness, considering it was his first on-camera love scene. “I was nervous and body-conscious, and to find out my first sex scene is going to be with an icon known for their beauty was a lot,” he admits. “But there was a great intimacy coordinator who asked what we felt comfortable with, and the director was John J. Gray, who I worked with on ‘Feud’ — and Kim was wonderful. It ended up being a really pleasant experience.”
Sadly, Hamish and Siobyn’s relationship soon soured, and in the most recent episode of “AHS: Delicate,” the director threatened to go public with their dark secrets. The scene was the last thing Burgess shot before the SAG strike went into effect, and it ended Siobhan seeming to threaten Hamish — who we later learn has died in an “apparent suicide,” prompting Siobhan to note it will be great PR for their movie.
His failed “iCarly” auditions led to his big break
Burgess moved to Los Angeles in 2007, and worked at the Sherman Oaks ArcLight while juggling auditions. He estimates he went out for Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” about 14 times. And while he never booked it, one of the casting associates at the show — Jennifer Treadwell, now with Treadwell/Kelly Casting — remembered him, and eventually cast him in a recurring role in the Disney Channel sitcom “A.N.T. Farm.”
When casting “Feud,” it was Treadwell who thought of Burgess for Buono, the closeted gay actor who befriends Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) on the set of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” Not only did she introduce him to the casting team of Robert Ulrich and Eric Dawson at UDK Casting, she made a vision board of him as the character. “She had found similar poses of me and Victor, and put them into this collage,” Burgess says. “She really changed the trajectory of my career.”
And good work begets good work. That role in the Ryan Murphy-produced series led Burgess to more collaborations with the auteur, including “American Horror Story: Apocalypse,” “911: Lone Star” and “Dahmer” — to his current role on “Delicate.” It also caught the eye of filmmaker Tate Taylor, who went on to cast Burgess in the cult classic “Ma,” with Octavia Spencer. That job led not only to a part in Taylor’s film “Breaking News in Yuba County,” but to his current role on “Palm Royale,” on which Taylor is an executive producer and director.
“Palm Royale” has been a pure delight
As the flamboyant, gossipy designer and dresser Grayman, Burgess gets to share scathing quips with the high society of Palm Breach in the soapy comedy, set in 1969. As an added bonus, they get to wear fabulous fashion. “Everyone looks so good,” Burgess says. “And the attention to detail is amazing. I’ve never had a tan in my life, but every two weeks, someone would come to me and give me a fresh spray tan.”
Burgess adds that the set was as playful as the series. “Everyone is allowed to throw out ideas or make suggestions; it’s one of those sets where everything just trickles down from the top,” he says. He also adds: “As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, being able to play a gay character on a show led by an openly gay showrunner and with so much LGBTQ+ talent behind the camera has been such a rare treat.”
In upcoming episodes, Grayman will get out of his studio and get to flex his dance muscles (another first for the actor), and attempts to catch the eye of Ricky Martin’s character.
One of his best and worst auditions was for “Picard”
A big “Star Trek” fan, Burgess was so excited when he heard about the spin-off “Picard” that he sent a handwritten letter to the casting office of Liz Dean and Julie Knapp of Liz Dean Casting. “I told them I used to rush home from school to watch ‘The Next Generation,’ and I will play a sliding door on your show if you need,” he recalls. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”
But the audition required him to learn a lot of technical speak about the character, Mr. Vup, an alien with an advanced sense of smell. When it came time for the actual audition, Burgess found himself stumbling over the technobabble. After a couple false starts, Dean helped him out by writing the lines on a whiteboard, but the actor felt he had botched it. “I called my agent and said, ‘I ruined it, I wrecked everything,’” Burgess says. Shortly thereafter, he got the call that he had booked the role. “God bless Liz Dean!” he says. “That’s still a career highlight for me.”
He’s also a writer-director, and constantly working on his craft
In addition to his work as an actor, Burgess is a writer and director developing several projects. His script “Products of War, “a World War II drama, was a semi-finalist for the Academy’s prestigious Nicholls Fellowship. And he wrote, directed and acted in the 2017 short film “Sam Did It,” opposite his “Feud” costar Alfred Molina and available to watch on Vimeo. Burgess got up the courage to ask Molina to appear in the dark comedy after the actor mentioned enjoying working with first-time directors.
When it comes to acting, Burgess still takes classes, primarily at the BGB Studio in North Hollywood. “I love being in a community of actors,” he says. “I love working on material I might not ordinarily get a chance to audition for. And I never want to stop learning about acting.”
