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Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has hit Netflix, and it follows the true story of the Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik, who murdered their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in August 1989. The anthology series first premiered in 2022 with the season Dahmer — Monsters: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Now that Monsters is focused on the Menendez family’s case, Hollywood Life has rounded up a cast guide from the series, below.
Javier Bardem — José Menendez
As a veteran actor who has been in the business for 30 years, Javier is known for his roles in countless films and TV shows. Among his most notable credits are Eat Pray Love, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the Dune franchise and Being the Ricardos.
Since Javier has played a villain several times in his career, his Monsters role appears effortless to viewers. While speaking with The Wrap in September 2024, the Spanish actor discussed one important theme in the series: trauma.
“It really speaks about some very important trauma, about how not being able to heal the traumatic events [from] childhood can cause dramatic effect for generations to come,” Javier told the outlet. “I guess you just go in and just play it, play it safe. I believe in that. I have a family that I go to at the end of the day, and I don’t want to show up being somebody that is not daddy or the husband or the partner. It’s a job. And the more I allow myself to play with imagination, the farther I can go, I think.”
Chloë Sevigny — Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez
Chloë is best known for her performances in independent films, such as American Psycho, Dogville and The Brown Bunny. She has also appeared in television shows such as American Horror Story and Bloodline.
When it comes to playing the role of Kitty Menenedez, Chloë explained that she wanted to approach the performance “with a lot of sensitivity” while speaking with Interview magazine in September 2024.
“You know, I think that we tell this story with a lot of sensitivity, and we unpack it in a way that I think people haven’t really done before,” the Portlandia alum explained, “I think now the conversation around mental health and sexual abuse is so different, you know? So, we get to really investigate in a way that people maybe shied away from in the past.”
Cooper Koch — Erik Menendez
Cooper is a rising star and comes from a family of film producers, editors and more. To get into character as Erik, the Los Angeles County native redecorated his trailer to look like Erik’s room.
“I turned my trailer into Erik’s room so I had clothes everywhere, and I had pictures of him on the wall, pictures of me too,” Cooper told The Wrap in September 2024.
Nicholas Chavez — Lyle Menendez
Born in Texas and raised in Colorado, Nicholas got his official start in the film industry in 2021. He landed his big break on the show General Hospital, playing the role of Spencer Cassadine as a series regular until 2024.
While discussing his role as Lyle with The Wrap in September 2024, Nicholas explained his process of learning about his character.
“The first thing that I did was called the people who I love who were alive at the time, and then I asked them what their perspective was and what their impression was,” he explained.
Dallas Roberts — Dr. Jerome Oziel
Dallas plays the role of therapist Dr. Jerome Oziel, who was a key part to the Menendez brothers’ investigation. Viewers have seen Dallas in various film roles, including Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and TV roles such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.