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before Cooper Koch was cast monstersHe was tested to play Eric Menendez in two other high-profile projects.
“The reason he’s been with me for so long is because I auditioned to play him seven years ago for law and order series and for the Lifetime movie,” said Koch, 28 years old GQ Australia In an interview published on Sunday, December 8, referring to 2017 True crime law and order and Menendez: Blood brothers.
Koch almost got the job both times. “I got to the last rounds in both and ended up not making it,” he said. “But I felt I had to play this role.”
Past opportunities paved the way Koch to learn about the Menendez case – and prepare for the moment when he is officially cast Ryan MurphyNetflix’s hit series.
“I got to the audition and watched the test videos for the first time,” he recalled. “I was so excited and believed them right away. It was then that I found all the similarities and I was quite obsessed with the case and their story.”
Koch was proud About “patience”, which led for his position on monsters. “I recorded and recorded, audition and audition, for seven years,” he noted. “So you finally get what’s supposed to happen.”
Season 2 of the hit Netflix series premiered in October and featured Lyle Menendez (Nicholas Alexander ChavezThe arrest of Eric (Koch) in 1990 for the murder of their parents, Jose (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloe Sweeney). Drawing inspiration from the following court photos and interviews, monsters Reflection of key moments The brothers’ lives before and after they were sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for shooting their mother and father.
Chapters 4 and 5 rReceived critical and fan acclaim About how it approaches Eric and Lyle’s claims that they killed their parents in self-defense following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse. However, the show received backlash for other inaccuracies about the Menendez brothers, including the implication that they were in a sexual relationship.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and destructive characterizations of Lyle, and created a caricature of Lyle rooted in the horrible lies and bots that run rampant on the show,” Eric, now 53, said in a statement shared via Lyle’s Facebook page. “I can only believe that they were done this way on purpose. With a heavy heart I say, I believe that Ryan Murphy cannot be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives to do this without malicious intent.”
Eric clarified that he is not excited to hear how he and Lyle, now 56 years old, are characterized. (The Menendez brothers apparently do not have access to streaming services at the Richard J. Donovan prison in California. Their family members, however, apparently watched and were able to relay information to Eric and Lyle on the content of the scripted program.)
“I am saddened to learn that Netflix’s dishonest depiction of the tragedies surrounding our crime took the painful truths a few steps back – back in time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that men were not sexually abused. And that men experienced rape trauma differently than women,” the statement continued. Eric’s “These horrible lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the past two decades who have bravely broken through their personal shame and spoken out. So now Murphy is crafting his horrible narrative through disgusting and appalling character descriptions of Lyle and Shelley and depressing slander. Isn’t the truth enough?”
monsters became an instant hit on Netflix, earning Koch a 2025 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. In October he spoke about His relationship with Eric.
“I wrote to Eric a long time ago. I wrote to him seven years ago,” he revealed during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live. “A long time ago. I think it got lost in the mail because it gets so much mail.”
Koch didn’t hear from Eric at first though got the chance to talk to him after monsters released (Koch and Kim Kardashian visited the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in September to meet with Eric and Lyle.)
Ryan Murphy’s Monster has spotted some of the most infamous true-crime cases – and sparked a backlash along the way. The first season debuted in 2022 and focused on Owen Peters’ character Jeffrey Dahmer. Monster, which also starred Nicey Nash, came under fire after the family of Dahmer’s victims revealed that he had not consulted them about (…)
“It’s just been a long time. But then when I met them, it was so normal like I already knew them,” Koch recalled. “Because I know them. Maybe it was weird for them because I know so much about them and they don’t know much about me. But it’s nice.”
He continued: “I spoke to Lyle quite often and he told me he finally watched episode 5 (of Monsters) and it was very emotional for him and he just told me I did a great job. He said I got Eric, so that was really rewarding.”
Koch stayed Open about his support For Eric and Lyle, the future of the brothers remains up in the air. (The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office recently recommended A Resentful in the case of Eric and Lyle.)
“I sincerely hope that we can right this wrong and heal what has been such a long and devastating trauma,” Koch said GQ. “If I had anything to do with it, I’m so happy. But there are a lot of people working behind the scenes who really help.”
