‘I felt so proud of myself’: ‘Monsters’ star Cooper Koch on awards buzz, filming ‘The Hurt Man’ episode, and advocating for the Menendez brothers
Cooper Koch is embracing the fame and media frenzy that came his way after portraying Erik Menendez in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
"The attention and the validation — just hearing so many people like the show and were moved by the performance is amazing. I feel so lucky and grateful," Koch tells Gold Derby (watch the video interview above).
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the second season of the true-crime anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. This season centers on the 1989 parricides of José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty Menendez (Chloë Sevigny) by their sons, Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik (Koch).
Koch credits the Emmy-winning first season, The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, for paving the way for audiences to embrace Monsters. "A lot of people watched that show and were fascinated by what he [Ryan Murphy] was doing with this series. I knew coming on the heels of that was like, 'OK, we're doing something really special and that has a big audience.' I knew we were going to have a lot of eyes on us. I got the first five scripts when I got the job in June, and I read through all of them in one day. They were amazing."
Crafting family dynamics
The actor recalls how the cast came together to create the palpable tension of the Menendez family in one of their first days on set. "Our first scene that we shot as a family was in the first episode where Kitty rips the toupee off Lyle's head. It was such a great scene to start with because it really encapsulated the family dynamics. It was always loud. Dad is arguing, Lyle isn’t agreeing, Kitty is smoking or drinking — not paying attention — and Erik is so quiet and just listening. It was a good starting point to create what the family was like."
Photo credit: Netflix
Portraying a real person
"I wanted to get it exactly right. I wanted it to be spot on — that was really a challenge," Koch says about portraying a high-profile figure. "I wanted to be as authentic and as close to the real person as possible while still putting myself into it. Especially for the courtroom [scenes] — where I had actual footage — I wanted to [match them as closely as possible]. It was a lot of pressure. That was the difficult part: the pressure to get it right while also having those emotions be authentic, truthful and coming from a deep place. It was so fun and challenging to try and recreate."
"The Hurt Man"
Perhaps the most buzz-worthy moments for Koch come in Episode 5, titled "The Hurt Man," in which Erik tells his attorney, Leslie Abramson (Ari Graynor), about the years of abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents. Directed by Michael Uppendahl, the 33-minute installment was shot in a single take.
"I thought you were gonna say Episode 3 when I'm naked!" Koch jokes before taking a serious turn.
"That episode and that script was really my preparation for the entire show and the entire character," he reveals. "When you hear about actors creating their backstory for their character, that really was my backstory. I didn't have to do much creating. All I really had to do was take the stories from the real-life testimony and take the memories that were written in that script and then visualize them through my own eyes — and get them so detailed and so specific that when I went to recount them on the day that they would affect me emotionally. I was working on that for a long time. I got the scripts in June and we didn't shoot that episode until March. I spent so much time every day reading it — or I would write out the entire script."
"On the first day we started shooting at 1:00 or 2:00 and we did four takes," he recounts. "The first day you obviously put the pressure on yourself and you're like, 'I'm gonna get it one. I'm gonna do it on the first take and that's going to be it and we're not going to have to do it anymore. Obviously, that is not the case. You have to keep going in, trying to find it, and starting over. It was exhausting, but so rewarding to finally get the chance to say those words for the first time and to live out this moment that I had been studying and working on for so long."
"We came back for the second day, which was on a Sunday, so nobody else was on the sound stages," Koch continues. "It was just us. That day was so special. We did four more takes. I remember every single one feeling so great. They could have picked any one of those and I would be happy. I felt so accomplished and I felt so proud of myself and of Ari."
Photo credit: Miles Crist/Netflix
"On the last [take], Michael Uppendahl said, 'Do whatever you want. F--k it up! Try whatever you want. We've got it, so you guys do whatever.' We let go even more than we already had and that was so freeing. We were so tired, but that was the one they ended up using."
Golden Globes
Koch was nominated for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor at the 2025 Golden Globes for his performance in Monsters.
"I was so honored and grateful to be recognized in that way," he says. "It was so special. I also felt happy that I got another opportunity on that carpet to advocate for the brothers and talk about them. I also loved getting to be on that carpet with my partner (Stuart McClave) and have gay visibility. If my 19-year-old self could look into the future and see that I would be like, 'Oh wow, everything's going to be okay.' It was an amazing night."
Photo credit: Gilbert Flores/Penske Media
Fighting for the brothers
"I'm very passionate about it," Koch says about his advocacy for Lyle and Erik. "All I can say is that in the next five months I hope that they get to come home. That's what I love the most about acting is when you find a story or a person that you care so deeply about — that you can empathize with so deeply to the point where it's like [being] them is a form of advocacy. I knew that was going to be my through line making the whole show. I always wanted to make people empathize with Erik and understand why he did what he did. I have cautious optimism, but I'm really hopeful by summer's end they will be home."
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