Nicholas Alexander Chavez is gaining lots of attention thanks to his role as Lyle Menendez in Monsters. The actor stars alongside Javier Bardem, Chloe Sevigny, and Cooper Koch in Season 2 of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series. The series focuses on the real-life case of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who in 1996, were convicted of their parents’ 1989 murder.
This is a big role for the former General Hospital star, who has been receiving rave reviews for his performance. As with many actors, Chavez did a lot of preparation before filming.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he how prepped to step into the role of the eldest Menendez brother.
I had to do an extensive amount of research. This guy is a really compelling and complicated character, and I wanted to be thorough. He has left such a strong impression on me, and I’m very glad that there are so many materials out there that I could read. I was glad that I could watch the court TV, and I could really see a glimpse into what happened.
Nicholas Alexander Chavez ‘Wasn’t Familiar’ With Lyle and Erik Menendez Before His Role
The infamous true crime case began in 1989 when Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed. A year later, Lyle and Erik were arrested, but it wasn’t until 1996 that they stood trial and were convicted.
The events took place long before Chavez was born, so he didn’t know anything about the crimes. “I wasn’t familiar with anything. I actually had not heard of the Menendez brothers,” he said.
But that didn’t stop the 25-year-old from doing his research on the case.
As soon as I got the audition, I immediately called the people who I knew and loved who were alive during that time, and I asked them what they knew about it and what their impressions of it were, and that was actually really interesting information to get.
Although Monsters has been panned for its accuracy, Chavez and the cast have been applauded for their work. One of the most emotional scenes is when Kitty rips her son Lyle’s toupee off his head during dinner.
In a way, Lyle’s wig symbolically represented the cover that he wears, or the mask that he puts on to the world – the perfect version of himself that he wanted everyone to perceive.
The dinner scene was just one of the many challenging scenes Chavez had to film throughout the series. “That was a hard day on set, but I was around some really, really talented and experienced people who were there for me.”
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently streaming on Netflix. Nicholas Alexander Chavez can next be seen in another Ryan Murphy series, Grotesquerie, premiering on FX on Sept. 25, 2024.
