Cody Fern (born 6 July 1988) is an Australian actor and director. Following his feature debut in The Tribes of Palos Verdes (2017), he portrayed murder victim David Madson in the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018). Later that year, Fern played Michael Langdon in American Horror Story: Apocalypse. He also appeared in the final season of the Netflix drama House of Cards as Duncan Shepherd. In 2019, he returned to American Horror Story for its ninth season 1984 playing Xavier Plympton.
Fern was born on 6 July 1988 in Southern Cross in rural Western Australia. He attended boarding school at Merredin Senior High School, and graduated from Curtin University of Technology with an Honours Degree in Commerce in 2009.
Fern had initially considered a career in finance before pursuing acting. According to an interview with Anthem Magazine, he hated his life while working in finance. He said, “This is not what I want my life to be. But I’m here and I’m doing it and I’m trying to fit in.” It was the Cate Blanchett-starring movie dilogy Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age that made him want to become an actor.