Gus Kenworthy Joins 'American Horror Story' For Season 9

Gus Kenworthy is swapping the ski slopes for the grisly world of writer-director Ryan Murphy. 

The Olympic freeskier is joining the cast of Murphy’s “American Horror Story” for its ninth season. Though specifics of the role are unknown, he’s set to play the boyfriend of Emma Roberts, a four-season veteran of the horror anthology series, including the “Apocalypse” and “Coven” seasons. 

Murphy announced Kenworthy’s casting in a Wednesday Instagram post, expressing excitement about the Olympian’s debut.  

Kenworthy offered similar sentiments in an Instagram post, saying he was “so fucking shook” after landing the gig. 

The role will mark the start of a significant new chapter for the athlete, who made history last year as one of the first two openly gay men to compete for the U.S. in the Winter Olympics. (Figure skater Adam Rippon, who has also transitioned into acting as of late, was the other.) 

Since then, he’s emerged as a staunch LGBTQ rights advocate, and he recently announced plans to participate in the 2019 AIDS/LifeCycle. He plans to bike 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles, pledging to raise $1 million to fight HIV/AIDS.  

Though “American Horror Story” may be Kenworthy’s most high-profile role to date, he’s been dabbling in acting for some time. In 2016, he guest-starred as himself on an episode of the ABC series “The Real O’Neals” and appeared as a skier in 2017′s “Sharknado 5: Global Swarming.”