Featured Image Credit: Netflix/NBC
Topics: TV and Film, Netflix, True Crime
Jess Hardiman
Evan Peters has revealed he was told to watch one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s key interviews as he prepared to play the serial killer in Netflix’s chilling new series. Watch him speak about it here:
Peters takes on the titular murderer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which was directed by American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy.
Before stepping into character, the actor dove head-first into material to get inspired for the role, including everything from interviews to police reports.
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Speaking about the preparation in a behind-the-scenes feature with Netflix, he explained: “Well, I sort of started with a blank slate with Dahmer. I only had the image of the haz-mat suits and the blue vat coming out of the building, which I didn’t even know was an apartment complex. I found out later that it was the Oxford apartments, where he committed most of his acts.
“Ryan [Murphy] sent me the scripts and then called and said, ‘Dahmer is interesting in that he is almost regretful and has guilt and sort of confusion about what went on. He doesn’t really have the charming, mischievous smile, he’s docile, aloof and almost disassociated from what he did.
“I immediately went to YouTube – he told me also to watch the Stone Phillips interview, and so I watched that.”
The conversation in question was a 1994 interview between Dahmer and reporter Stone Phillips, who went to visit the convicted killer in jail. Watch an excerpt below:
Joined by his own father, Dahmer discussed everything from his upbringing through to what drove his murderous spree – saying he used to enjoy slicing open animals to see the organs inside, only for his ‘compulsion’ to switch from ‘animals to humans’.
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Peters said he also read biographies and the police report, including Dahmer’s confession.
“I found on YouTube some audio of what sounds like a psychologist interviewing him, or even a detective, where he’s relaying what he went through,” he continued.
“And the way that he’s speaking is very candid and very normal.”
Peters added: “Again, it was so jaw-dropping that it all really happened, that it felt important to be respectful to the victims, to the victims’ families, to try to tell the story as authentically as we could.”
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Dahmer was convicted of killing 17 men and boys between the late 70s and early 90s, often drugging and sexually assaulting those who fell into his trap.
His murderous spree eventually came to an end on 22 July 1991 after approaching three men and offering them money to pose for nude photographs - one of whom was able to escape from his apartment to alert authorities.
Watch Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix now.