‘Monsters’ Stars on Exploring Menendez Brothers Killings: “You Start to Understand What Led to That”
The cast and crew of Netflix’s latest Monsters installment, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, gathered in Hollywood on Monday night for the show’s Los Angeles premiere.
From Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story follows the famous case of real-life brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. It’s the second story in the Monsters series after the success of Dahmer (starring Evan Peters), with a third installment just announced following serial killer Ed Gein, played by Charlie Hunnam.
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The first trailer was released earlier this month, focusing on a portrait of the “perfect” family as cracks began to show and hinted at the claims made by Lyle and Erik that they were subjected to years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father José.
“One of the interesting things about this show is that it tells the story of the Menendez Brothers from so many different perspectives,” Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays Lyle Menendez, told The Hollywood Reporter on the carpet. “It is a very thorough way to tell this story because we’re able to get an understanding of so many different points of view here. It allows everyone to make their own interpretation at the end of the day,” he added, noting he found that to be a great thing.
Cooper Koch, who plays Chavez’s brother Erik Menendez, found that the role made him realize “a new sense of gratitude for my family and my parents and the way that they raised me and treated me. That really helped me empathize a lot with Erik and to understand that that’s something that he wasn’t given and didn’t have.”
Several cast members, including Nathan Lane — who portrays late Vanity Fair reporter Dominick Dunne — said working on the show expanded their knowledge of the well-known case. “I can’t say that I followed it all that closely, but once you start to look at either the court testimony or all the other research about what went on in their household, it’s pretty disturbing,” Lane said.
“I think it was easy for people in the beginning to think these two spoiled rich kids will kill their parents for the money, for the inheritance, but it’s much more complicated,” he continued. “It doesn’t change the fact that they committed this horrific act, but I think maybe you start to understand what led to that.”
Lane praised Koch and Chavez for their “unbelievable” performances. He also gave a shoutout Javier Bardem, who portrays José Menendez and acts as an executive producer on the project.
Bardem noted that research is key when playing a real person, but that there weren’t many audio or video clips of José Menendez. “In that case, I let the great team of Ryan Murphy, the creator, and Ian [Brennan], the writer, to do the job for me,” he said. Bardem — with Chlo? Sevigny playing wife Kitty — worked closely with both through his role of executive producer.
“They made me participate in many decisions, and I was so grateful to them, in the sense that I felt so protected” he said, adding that he felt Murphy and Brennan took his perspective into account.
“I’m not a pain in the ass,” Bardem joked. “I was not demanding too much.”
The 10-episode season will be released Thursday on Netflix, making it the second Ryan Murphy produced show to premiere this week following Tuesday’s release of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.
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