What the cast of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story look like compared to the real people

When it comes to dramatised true crime, Netflix always seems to do an eerily got job of making the cast members look exactly like the real life people they are meant to be portraying, and that too can be said about new series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

The show is a 10-part recreation, showing the chilling story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer from his perspective, as well as those of his victims, family and neighbours. So, here’s what the cast of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix look like in the show, compared to the real life people they were portraying.

Jeffrey Dahmer

In the show, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is played by Evan Peters. After his arrest in 1991, Dahmer admitted to killing 17 young men and boys. Actor Evan Peters is 35, and Jeffrey Dahmer was 34 when he was killed in prison.

Lionel Dahmer

Lionel Dahmer is the father of Jeffrey, portrayed by Richard Jenkins in the Netflix series. 86-year-old Lionel is still alive now and lives with his wife, Shari Dahmer.

Shari Dahmer

Shari Jordan, now Dahmer, is Jeffrey Dahmer’s step-mother and married to his father, Lionel. Shari and Lionel have done interviews together and visited Jeffrey in prison. In 2004 they spoke with Larry King about how they have always believed Dahmer was mentally ill. In Monster on Netflix, Shari is played by Molly Ringwald.

Joyce Dahmer

Joyce Dahmer is the birth mother of Jeffrey Dahmer, and is played by Penelope Ann Miller in the Netflix show. In real life, it is true that Joyce battled with her mental health throughout her life and attempted suicide. At the age of 64, Joyce Dahmer passed away from breast cancer.

Glenda Cleveland

In Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story we see Niecy Nash cast to play neighbour Glenda Cleveland, but in real life, this character is based on two people. The person we see on the show is a combination of the experiences had by the real life Glenda Cleveland, plus someone else. In real life, Glenda Cleveland wasn’t Dahmer’s next door neighbour, and actually lived in the building adjacent. Jeffrey Dahmer also had a neighbour called Pamela Bass, who had a lot of run-ins with the killer.

Despite living in the adjacent building, it’s true Glenda was the person who got in contact with police a lot regarding her concerns with Dahmer’s behaviour. She struggled to get anyone to take her seriously. The phone call we see between Glenda and the police in the show is true – it was her who called after seeing Dahmer with 14-year-old victim, Konerak Sinthasomphone.

Tracy Edwards

Tracy Edwards escaped Dahmer, and led police back to the killer’s apartment, which ended in his arrest. Shaun J. Brown plays Edwards in the Netflix show. After escaping, Tracy Edwards ended up getting into trouble with the law himself. According to reports, he faced several charges including drug possession, property damage, theft and failure to pay child support.

Ronald Flowers

Ronald Flowers is one of the very few men who survived his encounter with Jeffrey Dahmer. He was taken to Dahmer’s grandmother’s house by the serial killer, and in an interview said if it wasn’t for Jeffrey Dahmer’s grandmother, he believes he’d be dead. In 2020, Ronald appeared in Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster and spoke about his experience.

Rita Isbell

Rita Isbell is the sister of Errol Lindsey, one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims. Rita famously gave an emotional victim impact speech in court when she was face-to-face with Dahmer. In an interview with Insider, Rita called Netflix “money-hungry” for making another series about Dahmer. She claimed she didn’t give permission for her breakdown to be portrayed by an actor, and she didn’t find out until she saw the clip online. In the series, Rita is portrayed by DaShawn Barnes.

John Balcerzak

John Balcerzak was the arresting officer in the Jeffrey Dahmer case. He was one of two officers who had the chance to help one of Dahmer’s victims, who was just 14-years-old, but he actually placed him back with Dahmer, who later murdered him.

Christopher Scarver

Christopher Scarver is the man who murdered Jeffrey Dahmer, whilst they were in jail together. Scarver had been sentenced to life in prison in 1990 for the murder of Steven Lohman, a worker at Wisconsin Conservation Corps. After killing Dahmer and a fellow prisoner, Scarver is still in prison serving multiple life sentences.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available now on Netflix. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• The full true story behind the disgusting ‘meat’ sandwich scene in the Jeffrey Dahmer series

• Here’s what happened to Dean Vaughn and why people think he’s one of Dahmer’s victims

• This is exactly what Jeffrey Dahmer’s life was like when he was in prison