‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’: Ryan Murphy, cast share behind-the-scenes stories at special Netflix event
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” made its Netflix premiere on September 19, launching the case of two brothers convicted of murdering their parents back in the national spotlight after 35 years. The limited series was created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, and stars Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as the titular characters.
Chronicling the abuse they suffered at the hands of their father, Jose Menendez (played by Javier Bardem), and their mother Kitty Menendez (played by Chloe Sevigny), the series sparked new debate about male survivors of sexual abuse, and if justice had really been served when Lyle and Erik were sentenced to life in prison following the brutal shooting.
On Saturday, November 2, Murphy was joined by cast members Cooper Koch, Nicholas Chavez, Javier Bardem, Chloe Sevigny, Nathan Lane, and Ari Graynor for a screening and Q & A panel hosted by Variety Deputy Awards and Features Editor, Jenelle Riley.
“I can’t say I was surprised,” Murphy revealed while discussing the case returning to the courts for possible resentencing. “When we finished shooting it and I saw the episodes, I thought they were incredibly powerful on several different points of view. That was always the purpose of the show, was to show different complicated points of view. What it did in raising questions about sexual abuse was very, very powerful. Love it or not, there’s a movement with young people who want to talk about that in a way that wasn’t available in 1989. Whether you believe them or not is kind of beside the point. What it did was launch a conversation about that topic, and people were really drawn to it.”
“A lot of people got involved and made their opinions known after they watched the show, which was very interesting,” Murphy continued. “Kim Kardashian called me a month before the show, came out and asked to see it. She’s a friend, and she is somebody who’s very into prison reform. She instantly got involved and the D.A. and the governor’s offices were flooded with reactions from people who had big opinions about the show. It led to something interesting, and more important to me, does it launch a conversation about something? The show did that in a way that we’re very proud of.”
Koch and Chavez had different exposure to the case, which took place prior to them being born. “I grew up in Calabasas, which is where the family first moved to when they moved to California,” Koch explains. “I had known a lot about it and I had watched some of the trial footage and testimony in high school. I was always fascinated by it and moved by their stories and testimony.”
“I wasn’t familiar with the story until I got the audition,” Chavez admitted. “Once I got that, you’re trying to do an expedited research process. You want to learn as much as you can as fast as possible so that you don’t make a fool of yourself once you audition for Ryan Murphy. It was an ongoing journey in terms of what were able to learn, and then marrying that with the scripts that were written for us.”
Murphy revealed, “I always knew that I wanted Javier Bardem, Chloe and Nathan Lane. When you go into a project, you plant your tentpoles. [Casting director Tiffany Little Canfield] and I thought the best way to go about the show was to find new people, fresh voices. That’s what we wanted with Lyle and Erik. Tiffany worked particularly hard for six months, just constantly auditioning. We called it the Scarlett O’Hara search. It went on and on. Suddenly you hit their audition video and I instantly felt, ‘Yes. They are the ones.'”
One of the biggest surprises in the casting process was Ari Graynor, who stars as defense attorney Leslie Abramson. “She was so spectacular,” Murphy recalled. “It was like, okay, done. The casting process is so thrilling. I always cast things in different ways, but this was a really fun thing to do. I’m glad me and Tiffany saw it that way.”
“Monsters” marks the first TV series for Oscar winner Javier Bardem. “I didn’t know anything about it,” he admitted. “I only know tapas and paella. But, I know Ryan. We were in Bali together in ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’ He called me, and I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ Then I read it and I said, ‘F***!’ Jose Menendez, what a guy! But, I always felt protected and safe in [Murphy’s] hands. One thing that I know for sure is that he’s an amazing artist. He always does thorough research. He surrounds himself with the very best you can find in this industry. Creatively speaking, no doubt. It was more about, how are we going to talk about these very delicate issues? I loved it and I went fully into the process.”
Sevigny questioned if she wanted to be part of telling this story, but was ultimately won over by Murphy as well. “Knowing that I was going to have to play different versions of this woman was very exciting to me, very challenging as an actor. Normally, you’re searching for this one truth, and you’re playing the truth of this character. Here, I’m playing different interpretations of her. I thought that was going to be exciting and a challenge. I’ve never had the opportunity to do that before. Also, to show a mother that is struggling in the way that this woman did. You rarely see that on screen. I know a lot of mothers that are challenged by their relationships with their kids, and that’s something people don’t really talk about.”
Lane plays Dominick Dunn, a prominent journalist known for his keen interest in high-profile criminal cases. The character becomes a key voice in shaping public perception of the brothers’ story through his article “The Nightmare on Elm Drive” for Vanity Fair. “It was great to be back in the 80s, without the cocaine,” Lane told the audience.
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is currently streaming on Netflix.