Here’s if the eerie story of Nile Jarvis in Netflix’s The Beast in Me is based on a real person

It feels like every few years, a new TV show pops up that reminds us just how fascinated we are with real-life crime stories. And now, Netflix’s The Beast in Me, starring Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys, is stepping right into that space.

The Netflix show wastes no time hinting that it’s inspired by real life. In episode one, we meet Nile Jarvis. He is the oddly charismatic yet deeply unnerving real estate heir who moves in next door.

Nile is introduced as a wealthy New Yorker who has recently left the city after becoming the main suspect in his ex-wife’s disappearance. He appears perfectly polite on the surface, yet there’s something quietly off about him. His new neighbour Aggie Wiggs, a writer, finds herself pulled into his world as she tries to understand who he really is.

It doesn’t take long before things start to feel familiar.

So, is Nile Jarvis in Netflix’s The Beast in Me based on a real person?

via Netflix

No, Nile Jarvis isn’t a real person. However, his story is clearly inspired by a very real figure: Robert Durst, the American real estate heir who spent decades surrounded by rumours, suspicion, and eventually criminal charges.

While Netflix hasn’t confirmed that the show is directly based on Durst, the similarities are striking. Nile’s father, Marvin Jarvis, runs a sprawling real estate empire with multiple Manhattan skyscrapers, much like Durst’s family business, The Durst Organisation.

Nile has a complicated relationship with his family, claiming he was the one who modernised the company and expanded its holdings, despite being passed over by his father in favour of a sibling.

Most Read

Three couples were together at MAFS UK 2025 reunion, but their statuses are very different now

From most to least: How many houses each Selling The OC agent has *actually* sold

I’m A Celeb’s Jack Osbourne and mum Sharon both dragged this ‘sick’ celeb they cannot stand

His ex-wife’s disappearance mirrors Kathleen McCormack’s unresolved disappearance in 1982. And Nile’s own explanations, along with the evidence he produces, echo Durst’s controversial accounts of events.

Even his clipped, measured speech and sometimes awkward social cues remind us of Durst’s interviews captured in HBO’s The Jinx.

Although Nile is not meant to be Durst exactly, he represents the kind of privileged, unsettling man whose public image hides a darker, more dangerous reality. He’s a fictional character, but one clearly built from patterns that exist in real life.

So, is Aggie Wiggs based on anyone?

via Netflix

Aggie Wiggs, the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer who becomes entangled with Nile, is also fictional. However, her character takes loose inspiration from real-life writers who became deeply invested in the subjects they were investigating. People have pointed out parallels to Michelle McNamara, who devoted years to uncovering the Golden State Killer case. Others see hints of well-known journalists and authors who’ve become part of the true-crime stories they report on.

But, like Nile, Aggie is not meant to match any one person exactly.

While Nile Jarvis is invented, the feelings and themes around his character are grounded in real experiences. Clearly, The Beast in Me isn’t aiming to tell one exact true story. Instead, Nile represents a wealthy man who appears respectable, yet leaves destruction in his wake.

For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.