Matt Czuchry Enters His Creep Era in ‘AHS: Delicate’

Where Matt Czuchry leads, I will follow. That’s how I — a girl who scares far too easily and famously avoids the horror genre whenever possible — wound up wrapped in a blanket, bravely suffering through American Horror Story: Delicate at 6 a.m. on a Thursday.

The award-winning anthology series from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, which premiered back in 2011, is on its twelfth installment. Yet before today I’d never seen a single second of the terrifying show, nor did I have any plans to watch. AHS: Delicate‘s casting changed that. Emma Roberts as Anna Victoria Alcott, an A-list actor who wants an Oscar as much as she wants a baby, was certainly a draw. Reality star Kim Kardashian in her first scripted TV role as a Kris Jenner-style publicist named Siobhan Corbyn made Season 12 a must-watch for many. Cara Delevingne as a sharp-dressed mystery woman named Ivy brought more star-power to the screen. Yet it was Czuchry’s casting as Anna’s husband Dex Harding that ultimately convinced me to face my fears and tune in.

The 46-year-old actor — whose on-screen career spans more than two decades — has starred in some of my favorite shows over the years, gradually perfecting the art of playing hot nice guys with an edge. Among millennials like myself, Czuchry is usually best known for his role as Rory Gilmore’s third big boyfriend, the wealthy Logan Huntzberger, in Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Now, don’t get it twisted. We stan Milo Ventimiglia’s Jess Mariano above all else in this house. But in pouring heart, passion, and self-improvement into the character, Czuchry turned a deeply privileged, reckless Yale student into a charming, ambitious, downright intriguing prospect. (Would I have turned down Logan’s marriage proposal like Rory did? I honestly can’t say! Czuchry really had me going!)

From Gilmore Girls, Czuchry went on to appear in several episodes of Friday Night Lights as Lyla Garrity’s (Minka Kelly) wholesome youth pastor crush Chris Kennedy before being cast as series regular Cary Agos in seven seasons of The Good Wife. (Full disclosure: I haven’t gotten around to watching this show, because it aired while I was in college and I was busy trying to survive life as a teen. Please forgive me, Matt Czuchry.) Most recently, the actor brought the ultimate heartthrob, Dr. Conrad Hawkins, to life in FOX’s long-running, recently canceled series The Resident. Hawkins was a precious single dad who wore leather jackets, had the most admirable moral compass, always put patients first, and was romantic as hell — Czuchry’s bread and butter.

I could have watched that man smolder through the halls of Chastain Park Memorial Hospital for the rest of my days, so when the series was canceled I was crushed. Upon learning the actor would return to TV in AHS: Delicate, I was initially thrilled at the idea of seeing him on screen again, then promptly filled with dread after realizing I’d have to endure a horror series. But much to my surprise, after surviving the blood vomiting, giant needles, home invasion, supernatural nightmares, spiders, haunted doll, and more first-episode terrors, I fear the scariest component of this show is Matt Czuchry playing a creep. 😱!

In AHS: Delicate‘s premiere, Dex was introduced as a predictably handsome husband with familiar qualities of Czuchry’s past lovable characters. We got glimpses of him as a gentle, patient sweet-talker who cared for his wife, reassured her, gave forehead kisses, and offered to grab her a snack or some tea. How nice! But we also saw darker sides to Dex. In the first episode alone, he appeared to play mind games with Anna, struggled to suppress a bubbling temper, made snide remarks about her competency, and put his career over her wellbeing at his gallery opening. Yikes!

Dex also knows that humans swallow a pound of spiders in their sleep during an average lifetime, which is creepy. Oh, and we can we talk about HIS DEAD WIFE AKA LOVE OF HIS LIFE, ADELINE??? THE JAMES BEARD-AWARD-WINNING CHEF WHO DIED IN AN ACCIDENTAL KITCHEN FIRE that, uh, feels like it intentionally started by Dex? Not only is Adeline’s death suspicious, but now Dex is just casually working with an artist who looks exactly like his dead wife? No thank you!

Czuchry’s presence in AHS: Delicate is simultaneously comforting and subtly unsettling, which suggests that after years of playing stable, swoon-worthy suitors and saviors the man is entering his Creep Era. And while I hate that for me, I must say I love that for him. Not only was getting cast in American Horror Story alongside such huge names a major career achievement for Czuchry, but the role shows he’s breaking free from his typical good guy type, challenging himself as an actor, and proving himself capable of growth.

Is Dex truly one of Delicate‘s top creeps? Only time will tell. But things aren’t looking good for him one episode in, and that’s all thanks to Czuchry’s acting chops.

New episodes of AHS: Delicate premiere Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX and are available for next-day streaming on Hulu.