‘The Shards’ Star Igby Rigney on His Bret Easton Ellis Take, the Cast Going “on a Real Bender” to Shoot That Wild Party and Their Active Group Chat
Igby Rigney discusses playing the fictionalised teenage Bret Easton Ellis in FX’s adaptation of The Shards, which Ryan Murphy and Ellis hope to develop over several seasons. He says the series will depart somewhat from the novel, leaving viewers increasingly divided between Bret and newcomer Robert Mallory as their conflict develops.
Rigney was unfamiliar with Ellis’s work beyond American Psycho before auditioning, but was already a Ryan Murphy fan and secured the role after a months-long process among roughly 500 actors considered. Episode four features an escalating party in the Hollywood Hills, including Robert’s violent dance and near-drowning; Homer Gere reportedly rehearsed the dance at least 100 times, while Rigney’s character provokes him with a rumour about Robert’s mother.
- Rigney plays a fictionalised Bret Easton Ellis in FX’s The Shards.
- The adaptation will expand beyond the novel’s storyline.
- Episode four intensifies Bret and Robert’s rivalry.