Jessica Lange has nothing but praise for her American Horror Story co-star Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates earned an Emmy for American Horror Story: Coven in 2014, and since then, she's taken for herself a new lease on life and her acting career. The 77-year-old actor is now the oldest actor to ever receive an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Drama Actress category for Matlock.

After the unprecedented success of the CBS drama Matlock, Kathy Bates has been on a high that she's never experienced before in her decades-long career in this industry.

Bates might be 77 and decades into her acting career, but she's just starting out, and all the people that she's worked with and continues to work with, from her co-actors to her directors, have nothing but high praise for her passion, work ethic, and, most importantly, her talent.

Matlock has been the spark for American Horror Story star Bates to enter her "redemption" era

It's been more than thirty years since Kathy Bates won her Oscar for her performance in the 1991 film Misery. Even then, Bates was a seasoned actor, a couple of decades into the profession.

In a conversation with Variety, Bates revealed that she was almost through with the industry and thinking about hanging it up when Jennie Snyder Urman (creator) came along with the idea of a renewal of the Matlock format, but with the twist of an old lady who's underestimated by many, at their peril.

Now, the American Horror Story star has managed to deliver an outstanding performance as Madeline Kingston, who goes undercover as an unassuming, southern, charming grandma in a law firm she thinks is responsible for covering up her daughter's death. At the end of the first season, Madeline's superior in the firm and her friend discover the secret that Madeline has been hiding all this time, setting up the biggest showdown between the two in the upcoming season.

The skilled performance that Bates delivers in this show, even as different personas based on the people around her in the scene, just goes to give us a glimpse at the American Horror Story star, Emmy-winning actor. Jessica Lange, who worked with Bates on American Horror Story, has nothing but high praise for her co-actor.

"Kathy’s one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with. I adore her. She’s no bullshit and doesn’t suffer fools, which I appreciate."

Well, "no bullshit" might just be the most appropriate description for the American Horror Story star, as she is solely responsible for the fact that Matlock is completely shot in Los Angeles. The CBS show is akin to an "EpiPen" for network TV, bringing in nearly 16 million viewers across streaming and broadcast, but more than helping network TV, Bates has helped her production cast and crew.

The pilot of Matlock was shot in Toronto, but the American Horror Story star used her power with the network and the studio to make sure that the series was filmed in Los Angeles. She says:

"Come on. This is Hollywood, for Christ’s sake. This is a huge industry for California. There’s so much history here. And it’s not just the people who work in production; it’s every other industry that Hollywood supports. The drivers, the restaurants. I don’t want to pack a bag!"

Bates might be the oldest-ever Emmy nominee, but she is nowhere near slowing down, and as her American Horror Story co-star explains, she does not "suffer fools" who would dare to think otherwise.

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