Exclusive: Cooper Koch and Ari Graynor Dive into the World of ‘Monsters’

Netflix’s "Monsters" Gets Real with a Riveting Bottle Episode

[This story contains mild spoilers to episode five, “The Hurt Man” in Monsters.]

While Netflix true crime drama Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story arrived to mixed reviews and courted controversy over its portrayal of the real-life convicted murderers, the limited series about the Menendez brothers has received universal acclaim for its centerpiece bottle episode, which was approached with divergent methods by the two stars who appear in the riveting two-hander.

Monsters’ fifth episode stars Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez and Ari Graynor as defense attorney Leslie Abramson, after the wealthy son of a top L.A. executive was arrested along with his brother for the 1989 murder of their parents. “The Hurt Man” — the episode, written by co-creator Ian Brennan, and named for Erik’s self-appointed nickname — is a single shot, 33-minute slow zoom into Koch’s face as he details the 12 years of sexual, physical and mental abuse he claims drove him to patricide.

Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menendez, took a granular approach to get into Erik’s mindset, zeroing focus on details from his stated recollections of the abuse, like what young Erik and his abuser were wearing at the time; the weather on those days; and the decor of the room in which the alleged abuse occurred. This method helped Koch to access the emotions of an abused child — a topic he said he researched while working on his lauded performance.

Each of the two days of “The Hurt Man” shoot consisted of four run-throughs of the unbroken shot, in which Koch, as Menendez, reveals harrowing details of his father José Menendez’s (played by Javier Bardem) alleged abuse. Koch said it was as tough to shoot as it can be to watch.

Graynor, as Abramson, speaks only a handful of times as her character questions Koch’s Menedez in the episode. Her face is not even seen over the 30-plus minutes. But that didn’t make it a breeze for the actor, who detailed to THR the bond that developed between her and Koch while shooting the episode, and how she approached the difficult material.

What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is now streaming on Netflix.