Cooper Koch on the Honor of Playing Erik Menendez in ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ [VIDEO INTERVIEW]
“It was one of the best days of my life. I’ve been wanting to meet him and shake his hand, give him a hug, look him in the eyes, and tell him that I believed him.”
Cooper Koch remembers the day he finally met Erik Menendez, who, along with his brother Lyle, is currently serving a life sentence for killing his parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. That story, of course, is the focus of the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
Koch is among those Emmy nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series and in this incredibly fascinating and revealing conversation with Scott Mantz for AwardsWatch, he looks back on his first meeting with producer Ryan Murphy, the intense preparation he and co-star Ari Graynor did for their 34-minute single-take episode, and how his life has changed since undertaking this demanding and controversial series.

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