Evan Thomas Peters is known for his multiple roles on the FX anthology series American Horror Story, created by Ryan Murphy. He is also known as Detective Colin Zabel in the HBO crime drama limited series Mare of Easttown, which won him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2021. This year, Peters won worldwide acclaim in the titular character in the Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is the first season of the true crime anthology series, Monster, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. It was released on September 21, 2022. The season showcases the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Oscar-nominated actor Richard Jenkins played Dahmer's father Lionel, actress Molly Ringwald played by Dahmer's stepmother Shari and Niecy Nash played suspicious neighbor Glenda.
Serial killer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer took the lives of seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Many of the killings involved necrophilia and cannibalism. Dahmer kept his victims body parts—typically all or part of the skeleton. Dahmer was convicted of fifteen of the sixteen murders he had committed in Wisconsin and was sentenced to fifteen terms of life imprisonment on February 17, 1992.
Dahmer was later sentenced to a sixteenth term of life imprisonment for an additional homicide committed in Ohio in 1978. On November 28, 1994, Dahmer was beaten to death by Christopher Scarver, a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story reached the number-one spot on Netflix in the first week of its release. It became Netflix's second most-watched English-language series of all time. Evan Peters threw himself into playing sadistic monster Jeffrey Dahmer. So much so, he stayed in character for the whole six-month shoot. His colleague and co-star Niecy Nash joked about how well Evan got into character. "People will say, 'What is Evan like?' and I'm like, 'I don't know, I don't know that man.'"
Evan Peters Watched 'Stepbrothers' To Get Out Of Jeffrey Dahmer's Mindset
Evan Peters dedication to playing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, led to the series becoming one of Netflix's biggest and most-watched series. Signing on to play a evil killer was a very difficult decision for the 35-year-old actor. Netflix hosted a conversation with the show's creator Ryan Murphy and its cast, where Peters opened up about his preparation process for the part.
For Peters, focusing on delivering the best performance and the end of the project, encouraged him to push through the challenges. "It was just having that end goal in sight, knowing when we were going to wrap and finally being able to breathe and let it go and say, 'OK, now it's time to bring in the joy and the lightness and watch comedies and romances and go back to St. Louis and see my family and friends and yeah, watch Step Brothers.'"
Evan Peters Wore Weights On His Arms And Legs As He Physically And Mentally Stayed In Character
Peters admitted he was “terrified” to take on the role of Jeffrey Dahmer in Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
“I really went back and forth on whether I should do it or not. I knew it was going to be incredibly dark and an incredible challenge,” Peters said during a panel talk with creator Ryan Murphy and co-stars Niecy Nash and Richard Jenkins. When Peters was sent the scripts, he watched Dahmer’s 1994 interview on Dateline in order to “dive into the psychology of that extreme side of human behavior.”
During the four months of prep and six months of shooting, Murphy noted that Peters wore lead weights around his arms and lifts in his shoes to get into Dahmer’s physicality. Peters revealed “basically stayed in this character, as difficult as it was, for months."
"He has a very straight back. He doesn’t move his arms when he walks, so I put weights on my arms to see what that felt like. I wore the character shoes with lifts in them, his jeans, his glasses, I had a cigarette in my hand at all times,” Peters explained.
Jeffrey Dahmer's Father Is Considering Suing Netflix
Jeffrey Dahmer’s dad may be suing Netflix following the release of their series, which he says glamorizes his son’s crimes. Despite achieving record-breaking viewing figures, has been heavily criticized by surviving members of the victims’ families.
Now, the killer’s father has spoken out, saying "zero care" was given for his well-being ahead of the series launch. A source close to Lionel Dahmer, 86, told The U.S. Sun that he was not contacted before the show was made. He also alleges that Netflix did not seek permission to use tapes recorded by Dahmer’s legal team.
Lionel’s assistant, who asked to only be named as "Jeb" out of fears of being targeted, says Lionel has been a "nervous wreck" since the series premiered. He has even resorted to displaying "no trespassing" signs outside his home.
Lionel has been living in a quiet village in rural Ohio, since his son was killed. Jeb revealed he even arms himself for protection. Jeb, 34, told The U.S. Sun that Lionel is considering taking legal action against Netflix for their handling of the series: "From my understanding and from everything that I’ve seen and witnessed personally, Lionel was not contacted about either of these shows on Netflix."
He added: "I’ve personally talked to a few lawyers, and we’ve talked to his publisher about it too due to all the chaos that is going on and the stories we’ve seen. Lionel and his power of attorney are gathering information and looking at a possible lawsuit against the production team or possibly Netflix." Jeb concluded: "Everyone is saying that if there was zero correspondence you seek damages. There was zero care whatsoever about Lionel’s well-being."
