Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story press conference recap

We recently had the opportunity to attend the press conference for the Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Show creator/writer Ryan Murphy hosted the press conference with cast members Evan Peters, Niecy Nash, and Richard Jenkins.

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is told from the victims’ perspective and highlights the police’s lack of competence which allowed Dahmer to go on his killing spree. The series was created by Ian Brennan and Murphy and also stars Molly Ringwald.

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story press conference highlights

The press conference opened with Ryan Murphy saying it took him ten years to get this project made. Niecy Nash and Richard Jenkins were both in mind for the roles of Glenda Cleveland and Lionel Dahmer. Next, he talked about his call to Nash to tell her about the show’s success, and she got emotional.

“It is my prayer that wherever Glenda Cleveland’s soul is resting, she finally feels heard,” said Nash. She talked in-depth about how the weight of the character was heavy due to it being about not just Glenda but every person that has had their concerns go unheard.

As far as the casting of Evan Peters, Murphy talked about how casting Jeffrey Dahmer went on for six months, and he said something was missing. He said he spoke to his casting director and would call Evan.

“I was terrified. I went back and forth on whether I should do it or not. I knew it was going to be incredibly dark and an incredible challenge,” Peters mentioned during the panel. He followed by saying he watched a 1994 Dateline interview to “dive into the psychology of that extreme side of human behavior.”

Peters discussed prepping for the role in-depth, whether adding lifts to his shoes, having a cigarette in his hands 24/7, or the led weights in his arms.

Murphy added, “you basically stayed in this character for months.”

Peters mentioned that he created a 45-minute audio composite that he listened to every day to learn his speech patterns and attempt to get in his mindset ahead of shooting.

“If Jeffrey Dahmer is your son, do you stop loving him? How do you deal with the fact Jeffrey Dahmer is your son?” Jenkins said in a very somber and emotional state. Jenkins, who has a storied career, said this was one the most complete people that he has ever played.

One of the biggest takeaways from the press conference was the passion behind the project. From Nash talking about the personal experience with Glenda to Jenkins saying how hard it was to shoot some of the scenes to Peters diving deep into the mind of Dahmer, each actor felt compelled to bring this story to life in an authentic way.

It’s a big reason why the series is about to shoot past over three billion hours watched on Netflix and is already the second most-viewed series in the streamer’s history.

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is streaming on Netflix now.