We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Naomi Grossman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Naomi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

So much of being an actor is out of one’s control… We’re constantly at the mercy of others to “pick us.” But when I’ve “picked myself”– conceived and developed my own projects– those are by far my most meaningful. While it’s exciting to be on a big show with an endless payroll, I’m still just a cog in a wheel. Whereas my solo shows, for example, are something I created, of which I can take true ownership and feel great pride. It still takes a village, of course– I’m indebted to the brilliant directors, Richard Israel and Richard Embardo, with whom I’ve collaborated, as well as my fellow producers, Sarah Anthony and Kate Atkinson, who saw my vision before even I did. But knowing I took control and made something beautiful and hilarious and poignant and smart, without waiting for others to make it for me, provides me tremendous validation as an artist.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

If people know me, it’s most likely as the fan-favorite “Pepper,” the first crossover-character in the hit TV series, “American Horror Story.” But that’s just a tiny sliver of my story… In spite of my “overnight success,” I was grinding as an actor 22 years before I had any mainstream, commercial success. 22 years… that’s enough time for my classmates to have babies, and those babies grow up and rent cars! And that’s why my new one-woman show, “American Whore Story” is all about! It chronicles my history of hustling– from the odd-jobs I’ve held to my even odder love-life– revealing the many ways I’ve “whored out” and made compromises to get where I am today. The third in my trilogy of autobiographical solo shows, AWS is preceded by “Girl in Argentine Landscape” (my coming-of-age tale, set in Argentina), and “Carnival Knowledge” (a comic, carnal romp– a one-woman “Sex And The City,” only different coast/cheaper shoes). Solo performance aside, I’ve done cameos in dozens of feature films and various TV shows (even Emmy nominated for one!), maintained an active Youtube channel and TikTok presence, performed regularly as member of the Groundlings Sunday Company, am a dedicated yogi and proud Northwestern alum. But it’s really the truth-telling on stage that I find the most gratifying.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Why, I have my own NFT collection! “Play With Me” is a groundbreaking digital collection I created to help support my new solo show, “American Whore Story.” Inspired by my “Pepper room” of floor-to-ceiling fan art, this fan-interactive experience encourages its users to build collages using Easter eggs from the show, thus enabling them to create even more art, and ultimately participate in the creation of my art (i.e. “American Whore Story”). Practically speaking, fans build their own unique collages or “collectibles” using artistically designed cutouts or “components,” which are actually Easter eggs from “American Whore Story!” Imagine a high-tech Mr. Potato Head— except instead of everyone getting the same nose, ears and mouth, fans might get my ex-boyfriend’s arm, or my first grade-crush’s face… all of which have special meaning in the show. Every component pack is different, each component has a distinct rarity, and the possibilities they provide to create a unique collectible are limited only by the creators’ imagination! Explore the full collection at app.vrynt.io!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’ve always had this “if you build it, they will come attitude.” (Despite the fact that, like I said, for a long time, no one came!) But I’ve always just done my thing, and been authentic to what I found funny, or felt I needed to say. Sure, there were times I shook my fists in the air, competing for hits against cat-videos. But I persevered, because I love it. Even had I not found mainstream success, I’d still be creating my silly videos, featuring my crazy characters… because, I don’t know what I’d do with myself otherwise! So when things did start to pop for me, I already had my socials in place… I went from 1 fan (my mom) to several hundred K overnight! Which was crazy… but so was seeing my character tattooed on fans’ limbs, or as a wax figure in a major amusement park, “Pepper for President” posters (solid choice in retrospect) popping up on telephone poles, TMZ jumping out of the bushes at me, E-bay sellers awaiting my arrival at LAX to sign their Pepper Funko Pop figures! Never mind my IMDb starmeter shoot up from 93,000 to #1, for which I was named one of “IMDb’s Top 1o Breakout Stars.” So it was all surreal… my socials exploding was just part of it. TikTok came later… I was basically bored during the pandemic, and couldn’t help but notice the rabid AHS fan-base, yet dearth of AHS actors on there. So I capitalized on that, answering silly questions like “what does Evan Peters smell like” and doing my own spin on various trends. And somehow went from zero to half a million in 9 months. It’s fun– people don’t expect me to speak Gen Z, never mind Spanish or Portuguese. Like my stage shows and digital collection, it’s yet another way for me to connect with fans–who, if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be where I am without!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.naomigrossman.net
• Instagram: @naomiwgrossman
• Facebook: @naomiwgrossman
• Twitter: @naomiwgrossman
• Youtube: @naomigrossman
• Other: https://www.americanwhorestory.com
• Tiktok: @naomigrossman

Image Credits
Doug Schwarz Robert M. Richards Kenneth Dolin Vanessa Gross Devin Dygert Robert M. Richards Marcus Folmar Spooky Empire VRYNT Naomi Grossman Casey Curry