Jessica Lange backstage: Thank you, Ryan Murphy

After not even being nominated for her past Broadway appearances in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “A Glass Menagerie,” Jessica Lange won lead actress in a play for playing Mary Tyrone in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” -- and she said the role was “nearest and dearest” to her heart.

“I’ve played Blanche three times, Amanda in ‘Glass Menagerie’ twice, and now Mary twice, and she is my favorite role,” Lange said.

She noted that she has Ryan Murphy to thank for it. She had told the “American Horror Story” producer that she wanted to revisit Mary Tyrone, whom she’d played 16 years ago in London. (Lange won an Emmy for her role in Murphy’s limited series.)

“He secured the rights, and then we took it to Todd Haimes and the Roundabout Theatre,” she said. “So I am here by his friendship and good graces.”