Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story star Evan Peters has revealed how he prepared to take on the role of the notorious serial killer.
The new Netflix series from Ryan Murphy shines a spotlight on the as-yet untold stories of Dahmer’s victims, the people who tried to stop him, and the systemic failures that enabled him to continue his murderous spree for over a decade.
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Now, in a new featurette for Netflix, Peters has revealed that he watched Dahmer’s famous 1994 interview with American reporter Stone Phillips to help him get into character.
In the interview, Dahmer is questioned about his youth and the early indications of his violent behaviour.
“I watched that and then proceeded to read biographies,” said Peters. “I [also] found some audio of what sounds like a psychologist interviewing him or even a detective who’s sort of relaying what he went through, and the way that he’s speaking is very candid and very normal.”
He added: It was so jaw-dropping that it all really happened that it felt important to be respectful to the victims, to the victims’ families, to try to tell the story as authentically as we could.”
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Also in the featurette, Peters said he was “very scared” about exploring Dahmer’s crimes, admitting that it was one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do in his acting career.
Following its release on September 22, the new Netflix series has been described by many viewers as “crazy” and disturbing”, while Peters has received heavy praise for his performance.
Peters stars in the series alongside Niecy Nash, Richard Jenkins, Michael Learned, Molly Ringwald, Shaun J. Brown and Colin Ford. Carl Franklin (Mindhunter) and Janet Mock (Pose) have directed episodes, with the latter also a writer on the series.