Vicky Krieps plays two roles in Monster: The Lizzie Borden story with characters appearing in same scenes
Vicky Krieps gets a great deal of screen time in the latest series of Monster - and it's not just down to her character being a central part of the plot.
The 42-year-old, who hails from Luxembourg, had a lot on her plate while filming the fourth instalment of the hit Netflix series, as she took on two roles in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
If you are able to look past all of the blood and brutality for a moment, eagle-eyed viewers will be able to spot Krieps impressively showing off her range, as she portrays two prominent characters.
Longtime Monster fans got their latest fix of the renowned series on Thursday (17 September), which delves into the complex unsolved case of a brutal axe murder committed in August 1892.
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Lizzie Borden was accused of savagely attacking her father Andrew, who is played by Charlie Hunnam in the show, and her stepmother Abby, portrayed by Rebecca Hall.
She was tried and subsequently acquitted of the horrific murders in Fall River, Massachusetts, but lived under a cloak of suspicion until her death in 1927 at the age of 66.
Ella Beatty takes on the responsibility of playing this ridiculously complex character in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story and she shares a lot of scenes with Krieps, whose primary role is the Bordens’ housekeeper.
The latter stars as Bridget 'Maggie' Sullivan in the series, a rebellious maid who introduces Lizzie to culture, hair dye and sex toys - as well as the concept of revenge.
Monster co-creator Ian Brennan described her a 'catalyst', telling TV Insider: "She’s like a foreign object that gets introduced to this ecosystem, and completely turns it on its head.
"I think Lizzie’s just completely perplexed [by Bridget] at first. She becomes, very quickly, an object of deep fascination and then desire."
Krieps herself shared some details of Ryan Murphy's vision for Bridget while speaking to Vanity Fair, saying: "The way Ryan thought of it, she’s almost like a Mary Poppins that comes out of nowhere, who can be anyone from any time. Ryan said, 'It’s women-driven, feminist, lesbian, dirty, unapologetic'."
Beatty dubbed the actress the 'most incredible partner in crime', which is apt, considering the subject matter of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
While shooting was already underway, Krieps then bagged another role in the series, as she also stars as Countess Elizabeth Báthory in what Netflix dubbed 'fantasy flashbacks'.
Explaining how this came about, Brennan told Tudum: "That was all shot in Italy, so we knew that that would be at the end of the schedule anyway, and we just couldn’t think of who would do it or who seemed right.
"It was Ryan’s idea. He pitched it to her and she loved it. Now it seems like such an obvious choice, but it actually came very late in the process."
Both of Krieps' characters have very contrasting appearances, so some people might not even clock on to the fact that the maid is also playing the Hungarian noblewoman and supposed serial killer, too.
While educating Lizzie on worldly literature, Maggie informs her of the tale of 'The Blood Countess' from Transylvania who was renowned for her beauty - and desperate to cling onto it.
In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, viewers see Báthory bathing in milk to keep her youthful complexion, before deciding to up the ante as she wasn't entirely satisfied.
She instead begins to soak in the blood of 'the most beautiful' virgins in the nearby vicinity, so that she can emerge with 'pure white skin like a child'.
"She was completely restored," Maggie tells Lizzie. "Because...blood is life."
In real life, Báthory was in fact accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women between 1590 and 1610, along with four of her servants.
The so-called Blood Countess was ultimately imprisoned in the Castle of Csejte until her death in 1614, while her alleged accomplices were executed.
She became immortalised in folklore and is believed to be the inspiration behind the evil queen in the story of Snow White.
The story of Báthory's alleged offending also shares a number of similarities with that of Lizzie's, given that neither of them were found guilty.
Was the tale of the 'Blood Countess' true?
Cambridge associate professor Dr Annouchka Bayley has suggested that Báthory might have instead been the victim of a witch hunt, who was 'shut up, erased from the history books and, where not erased, turned into a bogeyman'.
She told the BBC in 2024 after conducting years of research into the alleged serial killer that she suspects the Blood Countess might have in fact 'set up a school to teach them how to read and offered them sanctuary'.
Dr Bayley said: "I mean, who has the time in one lifetime to, one by one, kill 650 young women? "I mean she would have been a busy girl."
Describing Báthory as the 'first female self-publisher that we have on record', the expert added: "And that's arguably why she needed not only to be shut up, but erased from the history books and, where not erased, turned into a bogeyman. Lock up your daughters - because Báthory is going to come and drain them of their blood to keep her looking young."
We'll let you decide what you think of this, lads.
Topics: Netflix, TV and Film, Celebrity, History
Olivia Burke