The Untold Truth Of Evan Peters

Best known for his performances on "American Horror Story," Evan Peters is the most credited actor on the cult anthology series. As of 2022, he's appeared in 100 episodes! Throughout his many years on the show, Peters played a variety of characters, ranging from a guy with lobster hands to downright wicked villains. Then in 2020, the actor got a taste of what it feels like to be a real-life villain. Peters made waves after retweeting a video that showed a policeman "tackling protestors who were standing up against the murder of George Floyd," Us Weekly reported. Peters said he retweeted by mistake, promptly removed the post, and apologized. Some fans didn't buy the blunder, while others defended the actor, saying he rarely posts on social media.

Prior to the incident, Peters amassed quite a resume, despite only being in his early 30s. He started professionally acting at a young age, though not for the reason you might think. An early review likened Peters to a "mix of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo and Jack White," MLive recalled. Do you see the similarities? His looks and personality worked well for the women in Peters' life, including a few famous girlfriends.

Was it love at first fright when you saw Peters on "American Horror Story"? Or did he hook you in as Quicksilver in the "X-Men" franchise? Regardless of how you came to know of him, Peters is a fascinating individual with an interesting life story. This is his untold truth.

The 2004 movie "Sleepover" features early appearances by future stars, including Steve Carell less than a year before his debut on "The Office," a very young Brie Larson, and Evan Peters as a young skateboarder. Despite the perceived cool of the extreme sport, his character wanted "all the girls to fall for him, but unfortunately he goes about things the wrong way," About.com summarized. Peters admitted he was terrible at skateboarding, so producers "actually had to hire a guy named Stacey Lowery who is a professional skateboarder to come and try and teach [him] how to skateboard."

Though it may have been overkill to learn professionally, Peters claimed the coaching was mildly successful. "I could actually ride it a little bit," he shared. Unfortunately for Peters, however, his co-stars witnessed the growing pains that came along with learning a new sport. He admitted his worst accident occurred during filming. "I was skateboarding up and I just completely ate it right in the middle of the take," he explained, though he played off the incident. "It hurt, but you bounce back," Peters recalled.

The real reason Evan Peters decided to become an actor started with an innocent, childhood crush. The objects of his affection? The Olsen twins. In an article for MLive, Peters talked about starting acting classes as a teenager living in Flint, Michigan. "I got bit by the acting bug," he said, then hilariously quipped, "But mostly I wanted to meet the Olsen twins." 

The path to catch up with the twins from "Full House" seemed clear to the young man. "They were 15, I was 15 ... the acting thing seemed like the best way," he said. Jump forward many years, and Peters' big moment finally arrived. At the premiere for the twins' final movie, "New York Minute," Peters confessed, "I started sweating and freaking out and froze. I couldn't meet them. I blew it."

In an interview clip for W Magazine, Peters confirmed the Olsen twins "kind of got me out to LA. I was like 'I got to meet them.'" And while he failed at his first shot, he did get to meet Ashely Olsen. "She's sweet," Peters said. "I was a little nervous, but she was cool. By that time, my crush had changed and moved on."

Once he made it out to Los Angeles, Evan Peters immediately started appearing in commercials, films, and TV shows as a talented actor. And once he landed a major role in "American Horror Story," it appeared Peters could do it all. That is until he showed off his surprising vocal chops. In an episode for the show, Peters covered Nirvana's famous song "Come as You Are" — though the clip was a long way from an a cappella performance. According to Vanity Fair, "Peters's voice has been put through some kind of process to make him sound eerily like Cobain." During a sit down with Interview, the actor revealed what it was like to channel his inner rock star. He said, "I was both excited and nervous!" Peters confessed it was all fun and games while practicing for the scene. "But shooting it, the whole music video vibe was very weird and I felt uncomfortable in my own skin."

He nailed the scene, and it appeared he would receive another chance to show off his vocal abilities once the series cast Lady Gaga. Cosmopolitan asked Peters about singing alongside his famous co-star. "There's going to be no singing this year," the actor revealed. Apparently, creator Ryan Murphy "was very adamant about that. No singing."

Even though he's spent the majority of his career portraying monstrous individuals, Evan Peters' fans are younger than you may think. In an interview for Cosmopolitan, the actor talked about his huge fan base of mainly teenage girls. As an adult himself, some characteristics of his fans' age group like "selfies and selfie sticks" make Peters happy. "I think they're kind of hilarious," he admitted. That being said, other aspects are completely lost on him. In regards to Instagram — at least as of 2015 for the interview — "I never really understood it; I still don't get it. And I'm not very good at it."

Not trying to be pigeonholed as a boomer, Peters decided to show off his knowledge about youth culture. "Yeah, I know about bae," he said. "It's like babe but it's bae. It's with no b." Even better? Peters approved of the word. "I guess it's easier to say," he mused. Although easier to say, the numerous shortened words like "amaze" and "totes" mildly perplexed him. "That's the thing too, teenage girls don't finish words," he explained. 

So if you happen to run into Peters, please be careful about your choice of words. "I can't even with 'I can't even,'" he declared.

As a child actor, Evan Peters started off making friends with his fellow castmates. He told Esquire Singapore that, outside of filming the Disney series "Phil of the Future," the cast was "just a group of friends." As he explained, "we all hang out, and go to The Grove [mall] for karaoke." 

As the actor grew older, however, suddenly his schedule got a lot more hectic. Peters told Interview that he found it challenging to hang out with castmates after a long day of filming. "You try to go to dinner and see movies and hang out with friends, but after an 18-hour day," he said the most appealing thing was "to chill out, watch some TV, decompress and let go of the day."

Peters devoted his youthful energy to a multitude of projects. "I had this dream of becoming an actor and dedicating myself fully to it," he admitted in an interview with Deadline. Yet even the most dedicated actors can feel burned out by the constant grind. "We're shooting insane hours, I'm learning lines when I have a few hours that I'm not working, and it's absolute madness." It looks like Peters' hardworking ethic spilled over into his personal life, too, in a negative way. "I lost touch with a lot of my family and friends, even my fiancé[e] [at the time]. It was hard to come home at night and put it all to rest," he confessed. 

Having been in the entertainment industry since a teenager, Evan Peters has amassed a sizable fortune. Between commercials, movies, and his long-term run on "American Horror Story," the actor has secured scary-good contracts. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Peters' net worth is $4 million as of 2022.

Since moving to Los Angeles, Peters is no stranger to the life of the rich and famous. But you can't take the midwesterner out of the man. The actor revealed a few simple pleasures that he's used his fortune on. In an interview for Cosmopolitan, Peters revealed, "I have knitted before, but I gave that up." Another favorite pastime is going to the movies. But not necessarily just for the film part. "I'm a huge popcorn guy — I don't care where we are as long as the popcorn is up to snuff," he told Issue. Peters elaborated, "I could watch the biggest pile of crap and still have a s***-eating grin on my face the whole time as long as I'm eating that large popcorn."

Fans were shocked when Evan Peters appeared in the Marvel series "WandaVision" for several reasons. First, his character called himself Pietro, just like the Pietro Maximoff (aka Quicksilver) he played in the "X-Men" films by 20th Century Fox. This crossover led some fans to believe "WandaVision" was hinting at joining the MCU multiverse. Even his co-star Elizabeth Olsen was surprised. "When we heard that Evan was going to do it, my mind was blown. 'This is the first time we're merging! This is crazy!' And then to use it in such a clever way as Jac does was so satisfying," Olsen told Variety, referencing the head writer and executive producer of the series, Jac Schaeffer. The second shock came in the series finale, when viewers learned Peters' character was not a superhero at all but just a normal man, Glamour recapped. To keep all the details secretive, producers needed to be sure Peters' involvement was hidden. The actor happened to be filming "Mare of Easttown" at the same time "WandaVision" was filming. "That was hilarious. I'd actually be brought to (the 'WandaVision') set in a cloak and an umbrella," Peters revealed to The Wrap.

None of this was especially new to Peters, who already had experience with keeping tight lips on "American Horror Story." "It's a very secretive show, even when you're working on it. They don't want details to get out and ruin the surprise," Peters told Issue Magazine.

While Evan Peters has played some truly disturbing characters in TV and film, he is both professional and goofy in real life. Another positive side of the true Peters is his commitment to helping others with his time and resources. For example, he twice worked with the fundraising platform Omaze to support various charities. This included working with his castmates from "American Animals" to raise funds for Transylvania University. In another Omaze event, Peters offered donors the chance to have lunch with him, in addition to a walk-on role in "American Horror Story." He said this all benefited "the incredible work of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The CHLA has been there for our friend Ryan Murphy in a huge way, and this is a great way to give back to them," via iFunny.

On several occasions, Peters donated his personal shoes — including running shoes and hand-painted sneakers — to be auctioned off for the Small Steps Project, an organization in the United Kingdom that provides footwear and aid to children in need. Another cause important to him is funding cancer research. He became an ambassador for Stand Up To Cancer and released a video to create awareness for the organization, especially with a focus on head and neck cancers. "Today and every day, I stand up for my friend Tony who we lost way too soon to esophageal cancer," Peters said, before urging viewers to learn more and donate to the charitable organization.