Who is John Carroll Lynch, aka Twisty the Clown in ‘American Horror Story’?

• John Carroll Lynch is an American actor.
• He is best known for his roles as Twisty the Clown in the TV horror-drama series “American Horror Story: Freak Show” and “American Horror Story: Cult”, as Norm • Gunderson in the film “Fargo”, and as John Wayne Gacy in the TV series “American Horror Story”.
• He has been married to actress Brenda Wehle since 1997.
• He has appeared in more than 120 films and TV series.
• His net worth is estimated to be around $3 million.

Known for movies

Shutter Island (2010)
as Deputy Warden McPherson

Gran Torino (2008)
as Barber Martin

Zodiac (2007)
as Arthur Leigh Allen

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
as Bernie

Who is John Carroll Lynch?

John Carroll Lynch is an American actor, probably best known to the world for his work as a general villain or main killer in TV series and films in which he’s appeared. Some of his most famous roles include the part of Twisty the Clown in the TV horror-drama series “American Horror Story: Freak Show” and “American Horror Story: Cult”, also as Norm Gunderson in the film “Fargo”, among other roles he has had during his career.

John Carroll Lynch Wiki- Age, Childhood, and Education

John Carroll Lynch was born on the 1st August 1963, in Boulder, Colorado USA; some think that he’s related to David Lynch because of the last name and involvement in show business, but that isn’t the case.

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#firstheadshot yep. Yep, yep, yep

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He spent his childhood in Denver, Colorado, where he went to Regis Jesuit High School. After matriculating, he enrolled at The Catholic University of America, from which he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1986.

Career Beginnings

Once he finished his education, John joined the Guthrie Theater company, and for the next eight years, he was the star of many theater productions. Stationed in Minneapolis, Minnesota while with the Guthrie Theater Company, he was also a mentor for the graduate acting program of the University of Minnesota.

In 1993 he made his on-screen debut in a minor role in the film “Grumpy Old Men”, starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret.

John continued with minor roles in films and TV series, appearing in the award-winning romantic-drama film “Beautiful Girls”, and in the TV series “Murder One” (1996), before he was selected for the part of Norm Gunderson in the Academy Award-winning crime-thriller film “Fargo” (1996). He then appeared in a number of minor roles in popular films, including “Volcano” starring Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche and Gaby Hoffmann, and “A Thousand Acres”, which earned a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Rise to Stardom

Before the decade ended, John secured the role of Steve Carey in the sitcom “The Drew Carey Show”, appearing in 74 episodes of the highly-acclaimed series before its end in 2004.

With the start of the new millennium, John started being cast in more prominent roles; he starred in the comedy film “Bug” in 2002, was Mayor Garrett Shaw in the TV series “The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire” in 2003, and the same year co-starred in the horror-thriller film “Gothika”, next to Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr. and Halle Berry.

His next popular role was as Varlyn Stroud in the TV series “Carnivale” (2005), and then from 2005 to 2006 played Steve Sharpe in the TV series “Close to Home”. In 2007 he starred as the serial killer Zodiac/ Arthur Leigh Allen in the crime-thriller film “Zodiac”, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, and Mark Ruffalo.

Now a star, John continued to dominate the screen – he was Captain James Embry in the TV series “K-Ville” (2007-2008), then from 2011 to 2013 he starred as Bud Morris in the TV series “Body of Proof”, and co-starred in the thriller “Shutter Island”.

Continual Success and “Twisty the Clown”

In 2014 John joined the cast of “American Horror Story” as Twisty the Clown, the role that launched him further to stardom. After five episodes, he was picked up for the next season of the popular series, this time as John Wayne Gacy from 2015 to 2016, while in 2019 he was Benjamin Richter/ Mr. Jingles in nine episodes of the acclaimed series.

He also featured in other projects, including the film “The Architect” (2016), co-starring next to Parker Posey and James Frain, while he also starred in the biopic about Ray Kroc, entitled “The Founder” (2016). Two years later he had a popular role in the comedy-drama film “Private Life”, and in 2019 starred with Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, and Kathy Bates in the biopic crime-drama film “The Highwaymen”.

Most recently, John has worked on the TV comedy series “Perfect Harmony” (2019-2020), and currently on the comedy film “Kiss Me Before It Blows Up” (2020), starring Moran Rosenblatt, Luise Wolfram, and Rivka Michaeli.

Furthermore, John is set to co-star in the historical thriller film “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, next to Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp and Sacha Baron Cohen, scheduled to premier on the 16th October 2020. This is not all to John’s work, as he will also appear in the crime-drama series “The Big Sky”, which in mid-2020 is in pre-production.

In addition to his career on screen, John is also known for his voice-over work, and has lent his voice to characters from the video games “Ace Ventura” (1996) and “Return to Krondor” (1998).

John Carroll Lynch Net Worth, Height, Weight, and Appearance

John Carroll Lynch has appeared in more than 120 films and TV series, all of which have contributed to his wealth. According to sources, it has been estimated that John Carroll Lynch’s net worth is as high as $3 million, as of mid- 2020.

John Carroll Lynch is recognized for his height, as he stands at 6ft 3ins, while he weighs 165lbs ~ 75kg. He has black hair though he is going bald, and has brown eyes.

John Carroll Lynch Personal Life, Marriage, Wife, Children

John Carroll Lynch has been married since 1997 to Brenda Wehle, an actress who is 17 years his senior; the couple met while working at the Guthrie Theatre Company. They don’t have children of their own, but John is stepfather to Brenda’s children Emily and Sarah Wehle.

Brenda Wehle was born on the 28th June 1946, and some of her most successful roles include as Dr. Stephanie Rabin in the TV series “Party of Five” (1997-1999), then as Lavernia in the TV comedy series “Malcolm in the Middle” (2001-2002), while recently she featured in the biographical film “Kill Your Darlings” (2013), among numerous other roles.

John Carroll Lynch News, Interests

John is in the news again, and this time thanks to the upcoming series “The Big Sky”, which will air on ABC.

Quotes

#	Quote
1	The fear that you come to a show called 'American Horror Story' with is yours. That being said, I'm glad people are afraid, and I hope that I'm contributing to their fear. I'm really not afraid of my own darkness anymore. I'm not afraid of what I'm capable of.
2	Two actors who have different motivations and skill sets can work together and be magic. Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro technically couldn't work more differently, and yet they made 'Midnight Run,' which is a genius comedy.
3	As an actor, I've given up judgment of evil, as long as it's human evil - we have to see ourselves for what we really are, and we're capable of horrific things.
4	My crazy fear is I'm always afraid my keys are going to fall down a subway grate when I walk over it. I'm afraid they're going to jump out of my pocket and fall down. Isn't that stupid?
5	I never think of myself as lumbering, but I guess I am. I forget how huge I am sometimes. I've seen movies where I'm with a group of people, and I'm like, 'God, I'm just so gargantuanly bigger than anyone else there.'
6	Evil is important for us to look at, in my opinion, only insofar as it makes us look at our own actions and make us wonder, 'Am I participating in some kind of human evil that I really should stop doing?'
7	Psychological horror I've always appreciated, like 'Rosemary's Baby.' The slasher movies and the grotesque movies are the ones that I've really been off for a while.
8	'Fargo' was the turnaround for me, in terms of film, because it was a part; it wasn't a line.
9	Is fame without purpose and is fame without talent really where we are now? People used to be famous for what they did. Now, they're just famous.
10	Breathing is always key in any character. When you have a character with no voice, that makes it even more important.
11	You can have the most wonderful motives for what you do, but if what you do harms other people, you're fooling yourself.
12	I don't go to horror movies. I walked out of 'The Exorcist,' man.

Facts

#	Fact
1	Has two step-children.
2	Appears in three films with Jake Gyllenhaal: Bubble Boy (2001), The Good Girl (2002) and Zodiac (2007).
3	John is an Alumni of Regis Jesuit High School, now located in Aurora, Colorado but he graduated in 1981 when the campus was located in north-west Denver.
4	Was first choice to play Arthur Leigh Allen in Zodiac (2007). David Fincher saw his cold performance in Gothika (2003) and decided to cast him.
5	Former member of the Guthrie Theater Acting Company.
6	Graduated from The Catholic University of America, B.F.A., Theatre program. He was Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. May 10, 1986.
7	During the 1990s, John was a company member of the world-renowned Guthrie Theater Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as being a mentor for the graduate acting program of the University of Minnesota.

Pictures

All pictures

Movies

Actor

Title	Year	Status	Character
Details	2004	Short	Lou
The Mortuary	2004		Mr. Whitman
Catch That Kid	2004		Mr. Hartmann
Gothika	2003		Sheriff Ryan
The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire	2003	TV Series	Mayor Garrett Shaw
Confidence	2003		Grant Ashby
Live from Baghdad	2002	TV Movie	John Holliman
Three Days of Rain	2002		Dinner Guest
Par 6	2002		Dour O'Dowell
Bug	2002		Wallace
The Good Girl	2002		Jack Field, Your Store Manager
Rock & Roll Back to School Special	2001	TV Movie
Bubble Boy	2001		Mr. Livingston
Gideon's Crossing	2001	TV Series	Sonny Green
The West Wing	2000	TV Series	Jack
The Fugitive	2000	TV Series	Raynor
Gone in Sixty Seconds	2000		Impound Manager
The Next Best Thing	2000		Abbie's Lawyer
Waking the Dead	2000		Father Mileski
Tuesdays with Morrie	1999	TV Movie	Walter
Family Law	1999	TV Series
Anywhere But Here	1999		Jack Irwin
Freak Weather	1999		Ed
Late Last Night	1999	TV Movie	Sgt. Van Wyck
Star Trek: Voyager	1999	TV Series	Gerald Moss - Millenium Gate Spokesperson
Pushing Tin	1999		Doctor Freeze (uncredited)
L.A. Doctors	1999	TV Series
The Minus Man	1999		Bartender (uncredited)
Return to Krondor	1998	Video Game voice
The Naked Man	1998		Driver
Restaurant	1998		John English
From the Earth to the Moon	1998	TV Mini-Series	Bob Gilruth
Mercury Rising	1998		Martin Lynch
The Visitor	1997	TV Series	Joe York
The Practice	1997	TV Series	Dr. Robert Larson
A Thousand Acres	1997		Ken LaSalle
No Strings Attached	1997		Priest
Face/Off	1997		Prison Guard Walton
Life's Work	1996-1997	TV Series	District Attorney Agee / Crazy Larry
Volcano	1997		Stan Olber
Dead Men Can't Dance	1997		Sgt. Plonder
Ace Ventura	1996	Video Game	Additional Voices (voice, as John Lynch)
Feeling Minnesota	1996		Cop
The Fan	1996		Shopkeeper
Shaughnessy	1996	TV Movie
A Friend's Betrayal	1996	TV Movie	Mr. Franks
Voice from the Grave	1996	TV Movie	Prosecutor O'Gane
The Client	1996	TV Series	Frank
Fargo	1996		Norm Gunderson
Frasier	1996	TV Series	Franklin
Beautiful Girls	1996		Frank Womack
Murder One	1996	TV Series	Officer Carl Bickley
In the Line of Duty: Hunt for Justice	1995	TV Movie	The Major
The Cure	1995		Skipper #1 (as John Lynch)
Grumpy Old Men	1993		Moving Man
Anything	2017	post-production	Early Landry
White Orchid	2017	post-production	Sheriff Mann
The Founder	2016	completed	Mac McDonald
Furst Born	2016	TV Movie completed	Wayne
Channel Zero	2017	TV Series	John Sleator
Jackie	2016/V		Lyndon Baines Johnson
TURN: Washington's Spies	2016	TV Series	James Rivington
The Architect	2016/I		Conway
Miracles from Heaven	2016		Pastor Scott
Billions	2016	TV Series	Mr. Gilbert
American Horror Story	2014-2016	TV Series	Twisty the Clown John Wayne Gacy
The Walking Dead	2015	TV Series	Eastman
Ted 2	2015		Tom Jessup
Hot Pursuit	2015		Captain Emmett
The Invitation	2015/I		Pruitt
Hoke	2014	TV Movie	Bill Henderson
Us & Them	2014	TV Series	Ed
Manhattan	2014	TV Series	Daniel Ellis
Comedy Bang! Bang!	2013-2014	TV Series	Commissioner Ned Dooley / Officer Ned Dooley
The Americans	2014	TV Series	Fred
House of Lies	2014	TV Series	Gil Selby
Camp X-Ray	2014		Colonel Drummond
The Money	2014	TV Movie	Robert Harris
Do No Harm	2013	TV Series	Will Hayes
The Pretty One	2013		Frank
Highland Park	2013		Rory
The Glades	2010-2012	TV Series	Mike Ogletree
Body of Proof	2011-2012	TV Series	Bud Morris
Lay the Favorite	2012		Dave Greenberg (as John Caroll Lynch)
Crazy, Stupid, Love.	2011		Bernie
Paul	2011		Moses Buggs
How to Make It in America	2010	TV Series	Larry
Shutter Island	2010		Deputy Warden McPherson
Sympathy for Delicious	2010		Evangelist Carroll
Hesher	2010		Larry
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	2009	TV Series	Buddy Arnold
Monk	2009	TV Series	Kurt Pressman
Lie to Me	2009	TV Series	Mr. Reed
Love Happens	2009		Walter
The Prince of Motor City	2008	TV Movie	Paul Riley
Gran Torino	2008		Barber Martin
K-Ville	2007-2008	TV Series	Captain James Embry
Things We Lost in the Fire	2007		Howard Glassman
Big Love	2007	TV Series	Officer Chuck Tuttle
Full of It	2007		Mr. Leonard
Zodiac	2007		Arthur Leigh Allen
Close to Home	2005-2006	TV Series	Steve Sharpe
Maybe It's in the Water	2006	Short
The PTA	2006	TV Series	Principal
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World	2005		Stewart
American Dad!	2005	TV Series	Acl-Lou / Mr. Simms / Monkey
Mozart and the Whale	2005		Gregory
Carniv	2005	TV Series	Varlyn Stroud
The Drew Carey Show	1997-2004	TV Series	Steve Carey

Director

Title	Year	Status	Character
Lucky	2017/I	post-production

Soundtrack

Title	Year	Status	Character
Late Night with Seth Meyers	2016	TV Series performer - 1 episode

Thanks

Title	Year	Status	Character
Char·ac·ter: The Interviews	2010	Documentary the producers wish to thank
Char·ac·ter	2009	Documentary grateful acknowledgment / the producers wish to thank
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men	2009	the producers wish to thank
Trust the Man	2005	special thanks

Self

Title	Year	Status	Character
Late Night with Seth Meyers	2016	TV Series	Himself - Who's That Guy?
Talking Dead	2015	TV Series	Himself - Guest
American Horror Story: Freak Show, Twisty: Behind the Mask of Terror	2015	Video short	Himself
Kevin Pollak's Chat Show	2014	TV Series	Himself - Guest
Char·ac·ter: The Interviews	2010	Documentary	Himself
Svengoolie	2008	TV Series	Himself
Zodiac Deciphered	2008	Video documentary	Himself / Arthur Leigh Allen
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	2005	TV Series	Himself - Guest
Gothika: Painting with Fire	2004	Video short	Himself
On the Set of 'Gothika'	2004	Video short	Himself
Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool	2001	Documentary	Himself
CBS Cares	2000	TV Series	Himself

Awards

Nominated Awards

Year	Award	Ceremony	Nomination	Movie
2016	Saturn Award	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA	Best Guest Starring Role on Television	The Walking Dead (2010)
2016	Gold Derby TV Award	Gold Derby Awards	Drama Guest Actor	The Walking Dead (2010)
2015	Gold Derby TV Award	Gold Derby Awards	TV Movie/Mini Supporting Actor	American Horror Story (2011)