Although Evan Peters has had his fair share of “dark” roles throughout his career, the actor revealed that portraying serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was a whole different ball game.
Eyes were on Peters last week as DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was released on Netflix. The show comes from the Emmy-winning creator of American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy, who Peters has notoriously worked with in the past during multiple seasons of the show.
The series shows Peters portraying the role of the American serial killer and sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer, who was nicknamed the “Milwaukee Cannibal” as he killed and dismembered 17 men between the late ’70s and early ’90s.
In a recent interview with Netflix, the actor described how he prepared himself to take on the role of a real-life murderer, while also disclosing how difficult it was for him to dive into Dahmer’s mind.
Peters said that he studied Dahmer by watching his filmed interviews, hearing chats between him and a psychiatrist, and reading biographies, his police report, and his confession.
However, Peters said that committing to the role was one of the most difficult things he’s ever had to do.
Evan Peters reveals how difficult it was to portray Jeffrey Dahmer
“Honestly I was very scared about all the things that he did,” Peters said. “Diving into that and trying to commit to that was absolutely going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
He continued, “I wanted it to be very authentic, but in order to do that I was gonna have to go to really dark places and stay there for an extended period of time.”
Peters went on to thank the crew on the show, saying they were the ones who kept him “on the guard rails” and said that he couldn’t have gotten through filming without them.
Fans praise Evan Peters and deem his performance Emmy-worthy
When it comes to Peters’ dedication to accurately portraying Dahmer, viewers have praised his performance and have even said that he is on his way to sweeping during awards season.
“Evan Peters BETTER receive an Emmy for his performance as Dahmer. The acting, cinematography, soundtrack made this show extremely intense, but incredible,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Evan peters deserves to win ever[y] award available for how phenomenally he acted in this. It’s disturbing. Dahmer was a nasty dude and they portray it as accurately as possible in my opinion,” another viewer tweeted.
Another user praised Peters by writing, “Evan peters KILLED it on the Jeffery Dahmer series!! He embodied the role perfectly. He deserves an Emmy!!”
Although he may have had to tap into some “dark places” to carry out the role, it seems as if Peters may just be on the road to receiving an Emmy Award next season.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream now on Netflix.