Cooper Koch is sticking by his character.
The Monsters actor recently detailed playing Erik Menendez and how it felt to meet the 53-year-old at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, Calif., following the Oct. 7 release of the Netflix series.
“Preparing to play him was, in a way, preparing to meet him at the same time,” Cooper told Deadline. “Because in preparing to play him, I developed such a care and true—I just care so much for him.”
The actor also emphasized that he advocates for Erik and Lyle Menendez’s side of their story. While the brothers are currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents José Menendez and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, the duo maintain they committed the acts out of self-defense, as they had been physically and sexually abused by their father throughout their lives and are currently advocating for a resentencing.
“I believe him, I think he’s an amazing human being,” Cooper continued of Erik. “And so, after playing him, getting to meet him was so rewarding and special and one of the most amazing experiences I think I’ll ever have in my life.”
And this isn’t the first time the 28-year-old has shown support for Erik and his older brother.
“I really do hope that they are able to get paroled and have an amazing rest of their lives,” Cooper explained to Variety in September. “They committed the crime when they were 18 and 21 years old and at the time, it was really hard for people to believe that male-on-male sexual abuse could occur, especially with father and son.”
But despite Cooper’s support, Erik is not exactly in support of Cooper’s portrayal of him, nor of Nicholas Alexander Chavez playing Lyle in Ryan Murphy’s version of events.
“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken painful truths several steps backward,” Erik said in a statement shared by his wife Tammie Menendez to X, formerly Twitter, adding of Ryan. “How demoralizing to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma.”
The American Horror Story co-creator, however, does not feel Erik’s negative feelings toward the Netflix show are warranted.
“The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers,” Ryan told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. “They haven't had so much attention in 30 years. And it's gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world. There's an outpouring of interest in their lives and the case. I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did."