'American Horror Story' Adds Emmy, Oscar Nominee James Cromwell

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James Cromwell

FX's American Horror Story continues to up the ante for Season 2.

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Oscar and Emmy nominee James Cromwell has joined the cast of the horror anthology series from Glee co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

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American Horror Story's second season will feature a new premise, location and while there will be some returning cast members, they'll all play characters completely different from their Season 1 roles.

Murphy revealed last month that Season 2 would take place at an East Coast institution for the criminally insane that would be run by Jessica Lange's character, potentially set in a different era as well.

Cromwell will play Dr. Arden, the foil to Lange's character, who is his boss at the facility. The actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in Babe, also picked up Emmy nominations for his guest turns in HBO's Six Feet Under, NBC's ER and a supporting actor in a mini for HBO's  RKO 281.

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He joins a star-studded Season 2 cast that also includes Big Love's Chloe Sevigny, who will play Shelly the Nymphomaniac, another foil for Lange's character; The Voice's Adam Levine and newcomer Lizzie Brochere, in addition to returning cast members Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe.

"It's a completely different world and has nothing to do with Season 1; there's not a mention of Season 1," Murphy said recently. "The second season is set in a completely different time period."

Cromwell, whose recent credits include The Artists, Secretariat and playing George W. Bush in W., is repped by Paradigm.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit