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Before Cooper Koch was cast in Monsters, he auditioned to play Erik Menéndez in two other high-profile projects.
“The reason why he’s been with me for so long is because I auditioned to play him seven years ago for the Law & Order series and for the Lifetime movie,” Koch, 28, told GQ Australia in an interview published Sunday, December 8, referring to 2017’s Law & Order True Crime and Menendez: Blood Brothers.
Koch nearly landed the role both times. “I got to the final rounds in both and I ultimately didn’t get it,” he said. “But I felt like I had to play this part.”
The past opportunities paved the way for Koch to learn about the Menéndez case — and to prepare for when he was officially cast in Ryan Murphy‘s hit Netflix series.
“I got the audition and I watched the trial videos for the first time,” he recalled. “I was so moved and I believed them immediately. It was then that I found all the similarities and I became quite obsessed with the case and with their story.”
Koch prided himself on “having patience,” which led to his role on Monsters. “I was taping and taping, auditioning and auditioning, for seven years,” he noted. “Then finally you get the one that is supposed to happen.”
Season 2 of the hit Netflix series debuted in October and chronicled Lyle Menéndez (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik’s (Koch) 1990 arrest for the murder of their parents, José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny). Taking inspiration from footage of the trial and subsequent interviews, Monsters mirrored key moments from the siblings’ lives before and after they were sentenced to life without parole for shooting their mother and father.
Episodes 4 and 5 received critical and fan praise for how it approached Erik and Lyle’s claims that they killed their parents in self-defense following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse. However, the show received backlash for other inaccuracies about the Menéndez brothers, including the insinuation that they were in a sexual relationship.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show,” read a statement from Erik, now 53, that was shared via Lyle’s Facebook page. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Erik made it clear he wasn’t thrilled to hear how he and Lyle, now 56, were characterized. (The Menéndez brothers presumably don’t have access to streaming services at Richard J. Donovan Correctional in California. Their family members, however, have seemingly watched and been able to pass down information to Erik and Lyle about the contents of the scripted show.)
“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women,” Erik’s statement continued. “Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander. Is the truth not enough?”
Monsters became a quick hit on Netflix, earning Koch a 2025 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. In October, he spoke about his connection with Erik.
“I wrote to Erik a long time ago. I wrote to him like seven years ago,” he revealed during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live. “A long time ago. I think it got lost in the mail because he gets so much mail.”
Koch didn’t hear back from Erik at first but got the chance to speak with him after Monsters was released. (Koch and Kim Kardashian visited Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in September to meet with Erik and Lyle.)
Ryan Murphy‘s Monster has spotlighted some of the most infamous true crime cases — and sparked backlash along the way. The first season debuted in 2022 and centered around Evan Peters‘ portrayal of Jeffrey Dahmer. Monster, which also starred Niecy Nash, came under fire after the family of Dahmer’s victims revealed they weren’t consulted for […]
“It was just a long time coming. But then when I met them, it was just so normal like if I already knew them,” Koch recalled. “Because I do know them. And maybe it was weird for them because I know so much about them and they don’t know a whole lot about me. But it’s nice.”
He continued: “I talked to Lyle quite frequently and he did tell me he finally watched episode 5 [of Monsters] and it was very emotional for him and he just told me I did a great job. He said I got Erik, so that was really rewarding.”
Koch has remained outspoken about his support for Erik and Lyle as the brothers’ future remains up in the air. (The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office recently recommended a resentencing in Erik and Lyle’s case.)
“I’m very hopeful that we can correct that injustice and heal what has been such a long, devastating trauma,” Koch told GQ. “If I had anything to do with it, I’m so glad. But there are a lot of people who are working behind the scenes who are really helping.”
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