By Anne Brodie
Ryan Murphy’s intense crime anthology Monsters focuses this season on the horrific case of the Menendez Brothers in Los Angeles who in 1996 were found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez in 1989. It was a stunning, sensational trial as the sons testified about years of extreme abuse. They are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder. Cooper Koch, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez who play Erik and Lyle Menendez took deep dives into the case, and the psychology and even met the brothers. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is streaming on Netflix now also starring Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny. Koch and Chavez spoke to the media in Toronto and Los Angeles and revealed what they did to get a grasp of the story and characters and what they hope will come of the series:
COOPER: I did an enormous amount of research and just really watched as much testimony as I could. I would listen to it in the car. I would listen to it while I was going to sleep. And I watched it for endless amounts of hours. And I think it was just a lesson in empathy for me, and to understand who Erik is and why he is the way he is, and to just, really it was my goal to be as authentic, as authentic as possible and to just approach it with as much integrity as I could.
NICHOLAS: Yeah, there’s a tremendous amount of like primary source material that you can go through. The Court TV footage as well as all of the books that were published about the Menendez Brothers, from jurors. Leslie Abramson has a book.So, you’re pulling from these primary and secondary source materials. But then to your point about how the brothers are portrayed, it was an interesting thing to navigate because this show asks who the monster is. And I think the argument could certainly be made that one of the monsters was the media and how they portrayed the brothers during this time.
COOPER: I think for me the connective tissue between Erik and me was shame, and that’s something that I can relate to. And it’s something that I think everyone can
understand in some way. just really finding that understanding and empathy and supporting it. I think, at least for me, I did want to make sure that I was doing some of his voice and some of his mannerisms. He holds his shoulders down. He’s got a lot of tension in his mouth.
NICHOLAS: For me, there is an investigatory aspect of the craft where you want to try to remain as objective and judgment-free for as long as you possibly can. I think
we were very blessed to have access to the full Court TV footage. But ultimately, it is, more than anything else, a case study in empathy. And you have to go within yourself to find ways that you can relate to these brothers who went through absolutely horrific circumstances.
COOPER: Jose Menendez was very, very diligent with his sons about not being able to talk about the way that they felt. It was always, you know, you can’t cry, you can’t be emotional. You have to be a man. You have to be tough. Talking about your feelings meant that you were weak. And I think when you’re living under those circumstances, you become afraid. You become a shell of a person. : I guess the question, too, is like if you’re in fear for your life and you feel like you’re going to be killed, what do you do? I think that’s maybe the question. And maybe that’s why violence happens.
NICHOLAS: I’ve sat with Lyle Menendez for over a year. I think he’s one of the most enigmatic people I’ve ever come across. And it is this enigmatic factor that I hope to capture.
COOPER: I just hope it really shines a light on mental health and child sexual abuse. And to, yeah, just bring awareness to the fact that that still happens and it’s a conversation that should continue to be talked about. And so that people who are victims of child sexual abuse can feel seen and more comfortable to come out and speak about their experiences. And there used not be outlets for people that had experienced abuse, and maybe that’s one of the reasons why the brothers didn’t feel like they could do anything. But now there are so many resources for people to come out and talk about those things and get help. So, I hope for that.
Episode 5 features Koch as Erik speaking to an interviewer in prison. We never see the woman’s face. Erik talks without stopping about the abuse they suffered and his deepest feelings. The camera focused on him alone, the interviewer’s back to us, beginning from a distance and slowly, slowly zooming in and reaching his face in full. It’s an unforgettable cinematic and acting moment.
COOPER: I remember on the first day (of shooting), it was the third take that was like, oh, that was it. I felt all the things and I did all, and I was well, okay, that was the one. And then did another one. And then the second day, the takes were all kind of different and I felt kind of great about all of them. And they ended up choosing the very last take. I had the script for a long time. I was cast in June and was sent the first five episodes. I carried the script around with me everywhere. I did a lot of journaling, like, quote-unquote, memorizing my lines, and more reading it over and over and over and over again, to the point where it was in me.
Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story streaming now on Netflix