Evan Peters Says He Was "Very Scared" About Going to the Dark Places He Had to Go in Playing Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer

The recent Netflix limited series, Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, has made some huge waves as it follows the murders of one of the worst serial killers of our time. It sparked controversy as it upset the families of the victims, and it highlighted the missteps of the police who missed the signs of Dahmer’s crimes, allowing him to take more lives and live freely for much longer than he should have. The fact that he victimized a doubly marginalized group in the black LGBTQ demographic led to the victims being less cared for, slipping through the cracks.

It’s been a huge hit despite its heavy, sad, and frankly gross subject matter. Because of the intense theme, it was also very difficult and daunting for the show’s star, Evan Peters, to take on. In an interview with Netflix (via /Film), Peters talked about diving into the role, which he admits had him “very scared,” saying:

"Honestly, I was very scared about all of the things that he did, and diving into that and trying to commit to that was absolutely going to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life, because I wanted it to be very authentic, but in order to do that, I was going to have to go to really dark places and stay there for an extended period of time."

Peters went on to describe the challenge of playing a seemingly-normal person who was keeping this dark secret from the whole world. Ryan Murphy, who co-created and co-wrote the series, had one specific rule in making the series, that "Monster" wasn't a story from Dahmer's perspective. It was about the repercussions of his crimes and how a corrupt system failed to stop him even when they had the chance. Peters explained:

"To get lost in that, it was a challenge to try to have this person who seemingly was so normal, but underneath all of it, had this entire world that he was keeping secret from everybody. So, we had one rule going into this from Ryan that it would never be told from Dahmer's point of view. As an audience, you're not really sympathizing with him, you're not really getting into his plight, you're sort of watching it from the outside. It's called the Jeffrey Dahmer Story, but it's not just him and his backstory. It's the repercussions. It's how society and our system failed to stop him multiple times, because of racism, homophobia... it's just a tragic story. Everybody gets their side of the story told."

It proved to be a little trickier than that, with the victims’ families feeling that the show was too explicit and glorified Dahmer in a way. I don’t think it meant to do that, but seeing people dressed as the killer for Halloween this year, one has to wonder. To Murphy’s credit, he did say he attempted to consult with at least 20 of the victims’ families, but didn’t hear anything from any of them. They probably just didn’t want the project made in the first place, which is understandable. I couldn’t watch it. I’m a fan of true crime, but I have a weak stomach, and I can’t handle Dahmer.

Have you watched the series? How did you feel about Evan Peters in the role and the story as a whole?