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Actor Evan Peters played serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story which aired in September.
In a cast interview—"Making DAHMER: A conversation with the cast and Ryan Murphy" posted to YouTube by Netflix—Peters talked about the difficulty of playing such a dark role as well as the need to "get back into the light."
You can watch the interview here:
Making DAHMER: A conversation with the cast and Ryan Murphy | Netflixwww.youtube.com
The actor said:
"I put in so much negativity and darkness to portray the character that I thought, 'OK, once this is done, all of that goes away and I have to get back into the light and start filling myself back up with comedies and romance and sorts of things like that."
To get into the role, Peters watched videos of Dahmer, including courtroom footage, worked with dialect coaches and listened to a self-recorded audio composite "to stay in the accent, but also to really get into the mindset for the day and all the scenes we were shooting."
After immersing himself in the part, it's easy to see why the actor needed a boost of lighter fare to bring him back. One of the comedies Peters used to get out of character incuded a familiar face.
Peters watched castmate Richard Jenkins' film Step Brothers.
Jenkins played Dr. Robert Doback in Step Brothers, the father of John C. Reilly's character Dale.
Jenkins also played Peter's onscreen father in Netflix's Dahmer series.
Fans agreed on one thing:
In all seriousness, though, many agreed Peters definitely needed some relief after going to such a dark place to portray the infamous serial killer.
Viewers of the interview applauded Peters absolutely bone-chilling portrayal of Dahmer.
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix/YouTube
Though the show received some backlash—especially from families of Dahmer's victims—the Dahmer series was Netflix's second most viewed English language series ever.
Many believe Peters' unwavering commitment to the role was a major contributor to its success.
We're glad he found some much-needed and deserved relief in Step Brothers.