Evan Peters wanted to play “normal someone” or do a romantic comedy, but Ryan Murphy offered him “Dahmer”

No previous promotional campaign, “DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” became one of the biggest hits in Netflix history. Since its premiere on September 21, the miniseries created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, has been very present in the online conversation, both to analyze the work of its protagonist, Evan Peters, and to discuss the treatment of the its lurid content, based on real events.

Although the series has been the subject of several controversies, what almost everyone agrees on is praising the interpretation of Peters, who puts himself in the shoes of the butcher of Milwaukee with chilling results. Of course, in addition to the cheers for the actor, it has become a recurring thing (half jokingly, half seriously) to worry about one’s mental health after embodying so many psychopaths and deranged subjects. The one responsible for this is none other than Murphy himself, who has reserved roles for each more twisted in ‘American Horror Story’, the series that launched Peters to fame.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy revealed that Peters wasn’t his first choice to play Dahmer, and that in fact the actor wasn’t convinced at all at first. According to the manufacturer, Peters told him he wanted to play “someone normal” after giving birth to so many psychopaths, and who also wanted to do a romantic comedy. That is, the exact opposite of “Dahmer”.

At first, Murphy tried to find another actor to play the killer, but after seeing around 100 candidates during the casting phase, he decided to take the script to Peters. “He called me the next day and said, ‘This is a big challenge.’ It’s so hard that I feel I have to say yes, even though I’m terrified.”Murphy remembers. Peters accepted the challenge and, as he also explains to THR, studied the serial killer thoroughly, reading all the books and articles written about him for “try to understand why he did what he did and the internal struggle he experienced”.

And not only that, but he also prepared thoroughly for the physical challenge that would entail: “I knew it was going to be very difficult. It has a lot of external nuances, like the way he walks, he doesn’t move his arms when he walks and talks. I did a lot of research looking at it, working on the weight of my arms, wardrobe and all kinds of things. that he could carry with him all day to stay inside and become second nature. I created a 45-second audio montage that I listened to every day to assimilate their dialect and their way of speaking”.

Of course, his work has not gone unnoticed and everything indicates that next year he will be in all pools to qualify for his second Emmy. The first he recently won, in 2021, for his acclaimed work as a supporting actor on ‘Mare of Easttown’. It is clear that the troubled and troubled types give it great results, but please, someone offer Evan Peters a romantic comedy now.

Murphy talks about the controversy

‘Dahmer’ has been branded as a sensationalist by the public and even criticized by relatives of the real victims of ‘Dahmer’, who accuse the series of exploiting their tragedy. Now, Murphy finally talks about the subject, clarifying that he tried to contact relatives, but received no response.

“It’s something we have studied for a long time”said the producer at an event dedicated to the series in Los Angeles on October 27 (via THR). “During the three and a half years I spent writing and working on it, We contacted about 20 families and friends of the victims to ask for their opinion and speak with them, but no one answered us in that process.. So we rely heavily on our extraordinary team of researchers. I don’t know how they found all this, but it was a day and night work to find out the truth about these people. “. In the end, Murphy believes Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims deserve a monument or memorial and is willing to pay for it himself..