Cooper Koch, the actor who plays Erik Menendez in the hit Netflix series Monsters, has revealed he cares a lot about the killer and believes his version of events.
Koch plays rich kid Erik in the streaming channel’s hit drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which covers the true story of the brothers who murdered their parents at their home in Beverly Hills back in 1989 beforer trying to pin it on the mafia.
They were eventually found guilty of the crime but only after a mistrial and were sentenced to life in prison.
During both trials, the brothers claimed they had been sexually abused for years by their father and that their mother knew what was going on.
They claimed they killed their parents in self-defence when they entered their home and shot them multiple times.
The prosecution suggested they killed their mother and father for the money, showing evidence that they had gone on a wild spending spree immediately after the killings.
In the midst of a campaign to have them released, Koch has been visiting Erik, now 53, who has been behind bars at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, for the last 37 years.
The brothers are currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez.
Koch gives a riveting performance as a young Erik Menendez.
“Preparing to play him was, in a way, preparing to meet him at the same time,” Koch said. “Because in preparing to play him, I developed such a care and true—I just care so much for him.”
The actor also emphasised that he advocates for Erik and Lyle Memendez’s side of their story.
“I believe him, I think he’s an amazing human being,” Cooper continued of Erik. “And so, after playing him, getting to meet him was so rewarding and special and one of the most amazing experiences I think I’ll ever have in my life.”
This isn’t the first time the 28-year-old has shown support for Erik and his older brother.
“I really do hope that they are able to get paroled and have an amazing rest of their lives,” he told Variety in September. “They committed the crime when they were 18 and 21 years old and at the time, it was really hard for people to believe that male-on-male sexual abuse could occur, especially with father and son.”
But despite Cooper’s support, Erik is not exactly in support of Cooper’s portrayal of him, nor that of Nicholas Alexander Chavez playing Lyle in Ryan Murphy’s TV version of events.
“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken painful truths several steps backward,” Erik said in a statement shared by his wife Tammie Menendez to X, formerly Twitter. “How demoralising to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma.”
The American Horror Story co-creator does not agree with Erik’s negative feelings toward the Netflix show.
“The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers,” he told Hollywood Reporter. “They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world.
“There’s an outpouring of interest in their lives and the case. I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did.”
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