Evan Peters on Why He Felt Scared Portraying Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer
Watch the trailer for Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.’
Evan Peters is portraying Jeffery Dahmer in the upcoming series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and while the actor regularly plays dark characters, there were particular challenges he faced in bringing the serial killer to life.
In an interview shared by Ryan Murphy Productions’ official Twitter account, Peters talked about the process of filming the Netflix series. He made a number of revelations, including the scariest thing about playing Dahmer. “Honestly, I was very scared about all of the things that he did, and diving into that and trying to commit to that was absolutely going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life because I wanted it to be very authentic,” he said. “But in order to do that, I was gonna have to go to really dark places and stay there for an extended period of time.”
Fortunately, the crew on set made the process a little easier on Peters, who he credited for “keeping me on the guardrails.”
Dahmer was infamous for his acts of murder, cannibalism and necrophilia, which took place between 1978 to 1991 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Though the series focuses on his story, Peters said it was crucial that his portrayal wouldn’t cause viewers to feel sorry for Dahmer, which was a rule co-creator Ryan Murphy had while filming.
“We had one rule going into this from Ryan that it would never be told from Dahmer’s point of view,” Peters explained. “As an audience, you’re not really sympathizing with him. You’re not really getting into his plight. You’re more sort of watching it, you know, from the outside.”
Check out the full interview below and scroll above to watch the trailer for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which premieres on Netflix on September 21.
Emmy Award-winning actor Evan Peters discusses what it took to inhabit the mind of Jeffrey Dahmer, the toll it exacted and how he hopes it was all worth it; not only in telling the story of Dahmer, but the stories of his victims and a city that failed them. 9/21 on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/IZtiHDqNHH
— Ryan Murphy Productions (@ryanmurphyprod) September 16, 2022
