Nicholas Chavez breaks down the behind-the-scenes of becoming Monsters’ Lyle Menendez

Nicholas Chavez played one half of the exceptional Menendez brothers duo on Netflix’s hit show Monsters, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we are seriously impressed with the standard of acting. Nicholas Chavez has opened up about all things behind-the-scenes about Monsters, including the audition process, researching the Menendez case and meeting his co-star, Cooper Koch, for the first time.

The audition process

via Netflix

In an interview with Town and Country, Nicholas Chavez opened up about his experience auditioning, which was a surprisingly quick process: “I did an initial self tape, which I worked pretty hard on that got sent in, and then I had a call back with the casting associate who gave me some notes.”

The third and final callback is where he met Cooper Koch for the first time: “Usually when you go to a final callback, I was expecting to see maybe three or four other Lyles sitting there, but it was just me and Cooper. And when I saw him—that was my first time meeting him—we gave each other a big hug.” It’s so lovely to see how well they get on in real life too!

After about 20 minutes of talking with Ryan Murphy, Nicholas shared how he got the role: “He walks us out into the lobby and he says, ‘Okay, I’ve got the boys. Let’s do this.'” His reaction to getting the part so quickly was to get “full body chills.”

Once he’d gotten the role, the two ran through some scenes together, and the energy in the room instantly became “electric.”

The real Menendez brothers

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via Netflix

Nicholas Chavez “didn’t know anything” about the real life case prior to his audition, but had an “abridged” understanding during the audition process which left him “fascinated” and wanting to learn more.

After being cast, he read many books about the brothers, including Leslie Abramson’s, the Menendez brothers’ defence attorney. He also got into the “heavy” side of research, listening to Lyle’s phone calls from prison and audio recordings from his ex-girlfriend that were released without his consent.

However, he singled out When A Child Kills as a book that “really helped” his performance: “It’s written by the person who was the leading attorney on parricide at the time. This guy [Paul Mones] interviewed and worked with so many kids who have been in this position.”

What does Nicholas really think about the Menendez story?

Nicholas recalled all that he learnt during his time researching, including how the Menendez case seems “larger than life” to him. He noted that Lyle was “going through the most stressful moment of [his] entire life.” He recognised the story as “a standalone case,” but also mentioned that “there are actually a lot of case studies of kids who have dealt with something similar.”

How he became Lyle Menendez

via Netflix

Nicholas addressed how he really became the character of Lyle Menendez, which certainly can’t be an easy job. One of the key points was to “empathise as much as you possibly can,” because “he and I led significantly different lives, and I had to fill in those gaps for myself in what ways I could.”

He also really enjoyed how the show has “so many different perspectives,” and that it’s not so easy to have simply one opinion on it all. He and Cooper Koch constantly had to “shift our mindset ever so slightly depending on whose point of view we were telling the story from.” I don’t think my brain could handle all of that.

In terms of music, Nicholas had a great playlist, mostly filled with Peter Gabriel. He enjoyed the track Big Time, and of course, Milli Vanilli.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Wait, did the Menendez brothers really play Milli Vanilli at their parents’ memorial?

• Netflix confirms who Monsters season three is about and it’s the most gruesome killer yet

• How new evidence could set the Menendez brothers free, decades after their crime