Evan Peters delivered a captivating performance in Dahmer, and he apparently went all out to capture the titular serial killer. In a new interview, series creator Ryan Murphy and Peters detailed how the actor went to lengths that will probably have infamous method actor Jeremy Strong taking notes.
On top of devouring every interview with Dahmer, Peters reportedly wore lead weights on his arm to match the killer’s physicality. He also stayed in character “for months,” according to Murphy, which is a heck a lot of time to spend as one of the most disturbing figures in American crime history. Via Variety:
“He has a very straight back. He doesn’t move his arms when he walks, so I put weights on my arms to see what that felt like. I wore the character shoes with lifts in them, his jeans, his glasses, I had a cigarette in my hand at all times,” Evans explained. “I wanted all this stuff, these external things, to be second nature when we were shooting, so I watched a lot of footage and I also worked with a dialect coach to get down his voice.”
Peters was so determined to capture Dahmer’s distinct voice that he created a “45-minute audio composite” that he listened to every single day to match Dahmer’s speaking pattern and, again, get inside the killer’s head where he spent way too much time.
“It was an exhaustive search, trying to find private moments, times where he didn’t seem self conscious, so you could get a glimpse into how he behaved prior to these interviews and being in prison,” Peters said.
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is now streaming on Netflix.
(Via Variety)