Ryan Murphy Quote of the Day: “Everything I create… I want it to be a risk”
Ryan Murphy had said these words in a 2017 interview with Deadline, reflecting on the creative choices that shaped his career.
Ryan Murphy built his career on shocking audiences and turning uncomfortable stories into pop culture conversations, all while embracing the risk. ((Photo by Monica Schipper / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA /)The quote is still true for Murphy as the creator returns to the world of infamous crimes and public fascination with Netflix’s Monsters: The Lizzie Borden Story, another addition to his collection of controversial real-life stories.
Murphy has never followed a predictable formula. His creations and productions range from the dark satire of Nip/Tuck and the musical phenomenon Glee to the horror anthology American Horror Story and true-crime drama American Crime Story. Murphy's projects have constantly shifted genres.
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When Murphy developed American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, many expected a simple retelling of one of America’s most famous criminal trials. But Murphy pulled a “sike” on his audience by exploring deeper themes of race and celebrity culture as the media's influence weighed on public perception.
Similarly, Feud: Bette and Joan went beyond the Hollywood rivalry between actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The series explored ageing, sexism and the challenges faced by women in the entertainment industry.
Murphy told Deadline that he believed his biggest creative breakthroughs came when he ignored conventional expectations.
He said, “I think when you take the big swings — and I’ve done plenty of big swings that I was told were never going to work — those are always the things that break through.”
In a teaching moment, Murphy literally took risks to prove his own words, which are now central to his career.
Murphy described himself as someone who struggled to find acceptance in the industry.
“I started off in this business in 1998, and I didn’t fit in,” he told Deadline. “There was no place for me, and I always felt like an oddball.”
He narrated that his breakthrough came after his executives at Fox encouraged him to create stories that reflected his own interests. That gave birth to Glee, a series that combined music, teenage drama and social issues in a way few expected to succeed.
For Murphy, risk at the time was not simply about creating controversy. It is about giving attention to stories and people who are often ignored.
He said, “I keep trying to change the industry into the world I want it to look like.”
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More
