Angela Bassett, who plays three-breasted woman on "American Horror Story: Freak Show," has said that she has a lot of respect and regard for her castmates who battle real-life physical disabilities every day.
In a recent interview with Vulture, the 56-year-old actress recalled the first moments she had with her co-stars with physical disabilities like Mat Fraser (Paul the Illustrated Seal), Jyoti Amge (Ma Petite) and Rose Siggins (Legless Suzi), among many others, on the set of the hit FX anthology series.
"Initially it's like pre-school, like kids going up to each other and saying 'Hi!,'" she said. "You know, we're all going to be here together for a little time."
"When I got to the set I knew we'd have Amazon Eve [Erika Ervin] the tallest woman, and Mat Fraser, and on and on," continued the Oscar nominated actress. "And you know, we just all met each other in the makeup trailer, said 'hello,' you shake a hand, and then you have to just broach things through gentle conversation."
"The last thing that I want to be is insensitive," added Bassett who recently directed a Whitney Houston biopic for Lifetime." "But I find that asking questions earnestly is not being insensitive. And we have to have open conversations. We come away from this with a lot of respect and regard for our castmates who have had to battle."
And respect is exactly what "Freak Show" is all about, according to Bassett.
"It's about compassion for the differences," she said of this show's overall message during an Oct. 28, interview with HuffPost Live. "That's what makes the world so interesting is that we are different and some folks are a little bit odd but they may have talent and wisdom we can learn from."
"It is about being more considerate and accommodating of the differences of individuals, whether they're physical or emotional. Whether it's who they choose to love or what choices they make, just having more compassion towards others," she reiterated.
"It's wonderful to work with our special cast," added the mother of two. "I really wish my kids had more time to come down and be on the set and have that experience, just as a point of growth and exposure."
As for her character's backstory, series' co-creator Ryan Murphy recently told Entertainment Weekly that viewers will know more about Desiree next episode. "You find out about Desiree's childhood," he said. "You find out about Dell (Michael Chiklis) and where he came from and why he's with Desiree and all that stuff. "
"American Horror Story: Freak Show" airs every Wednesdays 10:00 p.m. on FX.