Ryan Murphy Said Working With Evan Peters Felt Like Being a ‘Father’ With a ‘Child’ in the Olympics
Evan Peters has collaborated with Ryan Murphy on multiple projects, including Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, American Horror Story, and Pose. Here’s what Murphy said about working with Peters and their father/son dynamic.
Evan Peters completely transformed for the role of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Ryan Murphy show
Emmy Award-winning actor Evan Peters says he gave “120 percent” to his role in Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. “Doing the role, I wanted to give it 120 percent the whole way through, so I brought in a lot of darkness and negativity,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Peters revealed that he put weights on his arms to mimic Jeffrey Dahmer’s walking style, wore the character’s signature glasses and clothes for months, and studied recordings of the serial killer to perfect his dialect.
Niecy Nash, who played Dahmer’s neighbor Glenda Cleveland, said she never really got to know her co-star due to his method acting. “People will say, ‘What is Evan like?’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know that man,’” said Nash.
Ryan Murphy said working with Evan Peters was like being a ‘father’ with a son ‘in the Olympics’
In a joint December interview with Variety, Ryan Murphy and Evan Peters opened up about working together on Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Murphy said that although Peters embodied Jeffrey Dahmer perfectly, he still managed to have a personal life.
“Evan would go home, and it wasn’t like he would rock back and forth in his bedroom, which I think people presume. He had a life, however restricted and dedicated,” Murphy shared. “It was like running a marathon. If you run a marathon, you eat a certain way. You sleep a certain way. It was a very athletic way of approaching the performance.”
He said that he felt like Peters’ “father” while working on the project because he checked in on the actor frequently, and they had open discussions about mental health. “There were moments I sort of felt like a father who has a child who is in the Olympics,” Murphy said. “You say, how can I help you?”
Peters said he wasn’t initially planning on taking the role, but the prospect of working with Murphy changed his mind. “I knew that you’re an incredible support system and I trust you and there’s an honesty there,” he told the show creator. “I knew that, with the goal in mind of finishing this thing as strong as I started it, that you would create a great safety net. If I fell down, I could get back up and we could finish this thing.”
The actor called the ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ creator a ‘visionary’
Evan Peters and Ryan Murphy share a mutual respect for each other, and the show creator has used the actor in several of his projects, including Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, American Horror Story, and Pose.
“It is a cool thing to be part of that Ryan Murphy troupe,” said Peters (via AP Archive). “I don’t know what it is, I don’t know what keeps people in the troupe and what gets them kicked out, but (laughs) luckily, and knock on wood, I’m in it right now, and hopefully I can stay in it, because it’s a great world to be a part of.”
The Mare of Easttown star called Murphy a “visionary.” “He has such great taste, mixed with what’s going on in the world,” Peters gushed. “And his shows are relevant, and they try to bring a mirror up on society. And because it is television, it reaches so many people and goes right into their homes and their hearts. It’s a very cool thing that Ryan Murphy can do.”
He added that Murphy has the power to show people what they are capable of. “It’s one of those things where you’re kind of flying by the seat of your pants and you’re just going with your gut and you’re not over-thinking everything, and that’s something I have a tendency to do,” Peters said. “So it’s kind of great to just sort of get a Ryan Murphy kick in the a** to get out there and do it and believe in yourself and have confidence, and he’s been great at instilling that.”
