Video: Director Nelson Cragg Brilliantly Navigates the Challenging ‘Them’

Nelson Cragg is no stranger to the anthology series.

Initially working as a cinematographer, Cragg received Emmy nominations for his lensing work on Showtime’s Homeland and FX’s The People v.s O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. After working closely with Ryan Murphy, Cragg garnered the opportunity to direct on American Horror Story: Roanoke. He also sat in the director’s chair for The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Pose, Ratched before landing on Amazon Studio’s Them for creator Little Marvin.

Cragg directed four episodes of the series, including the pilot episode. While filming that episode, he worked closely with Marvin to eventually set the tone for the remainder of the series. He also guided actors Ashley Thomas and Deborah Ayorinde through the extremely challenging material.

Here, Cragg talks to AwardsDaily’s Clarence Moye about working with Ryan Murphy. He shares the lessons, guidance, and benefits of working on a Murphy series and what he took to Them. He also talks about the complications of tackling a series so heavily steeped in themes of racism and fear. Cragg also explains his personal reasons for not directing the most emotionally challenging episode, episode five. Finally, he talks about his wishes for a potential future engagement on the Them anthology series should the opportunity arise.

Them streams exclusively on Amazon Prime.