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The Story Behind Kai's Blue Hair On American Horror Story: Cult Isn't What You Expect

Photo: Frank Ockenfels/FX
Evan Peters' character on American Horror Story: Cult might be the most dangerous person we've seen on the FX anthology. With the power to convince lost souls to follow his murderous ways, there is seemingly nothing that Kai Anderson can't do. Well, save for get his roots done in a timely fashion, of course.
Kai's blue hair has long been a question for American Horror Story fans, and thanks to Peters' interview with Entertainment Weekly, we now know why this AHS character decided to go blue. According to the actor, he was inspired by a certain cult flick starring Matthew Lillard.
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"That was originally my idea," Peters told Entertainment Weekly of dying his hair royal blue.
"I remember seeing this movie called SLC Punk! and I always associated Detroit with this punk rock type scene. There was something kind of scary but alluring and kind of underground about blue hair."
He also told the outlet that once he made the connection, blue hair started popping up everywhere.
"I was like, this is some kind of sign and I just have to do it. Everybody has brown hair, blonde hair, and red hair. So it was kind of like, destroy what’s already kind of going on everywhere — what’s normal — and let’s create something new. That was the logic behind it."
It's unclear if Peters intended for the blue hair's connection to SLC Punk! to be more than just surface-level, but the film is surprisingly fitting for the themes of AHS. In that movie, the "punks" (which include Lillard's character Stevo, who rocks his own blue hair) attempt to create their own anarchist version of society, while confronting the many other subcultures who have different ideals. At the end of the movie, Stevo decides that he's going to go to law school to fight the system from the inside, which is what Kai attempts to do by joining the city council.
However, Lillard's intentions don't involve murdering people while wearing a clown costume.
As of what fans can expect for Kai next, well...he won't chill out. Peters told Entertainment Weekly:
" Right now [Kai is] a narcissist but then he turns into a megalomaniac and it just gets more and more and more. It’s tragic and fun and scary to watch Kai’s power get strong and stronger and stronger with the lack of sanity and empathy he has. It gets pretty terrifying."
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Umm, it already is. Don't let the grown-out roots fool you, Kai is a man who knows how to get things done.

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