Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch don't think the Menendez brothers are “monsters”

A week before Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez Premiere on Netflix, Ryan Murphy warned the crowd at a preview screening that we were about to witness the birth of a star. Do this with two people.

“It's September 12th, aka the last Wednesday before Nicholas and Cooper become super famous,” Murphy said of him Monster Stars Nicholas Alexander Chavez And Cooper Koch. The couple plays Lyle And Erik Menendez, and the brothers, respectively, who are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. Murphy turned to the two young actors sitting next to him and, in their final moments of relative anonymity, delivered a congratulatory but foreboding message: “Have fun with it.”

Hopefully they heeded his warning. Monster immediately became the number one show on Netflix as it generated controversy, fan frenzy, and an onslaught of opinions over how it portrayed the Menendez brothers' controversial case. The real Erik criticized the series, saying it was full of “obvious lies.” Murphy, meanwhile, defended the show, claiming it was “the best thing to happen to the Menendez brothers in 30 years.”

All the while, 25-year-old Chavez and 28-year-old Koch were in the eye of the storm. In separate Zoom interviews, the actors attempt to articulate the wild ride they've endured since releasing their portrayal of the Menendez brothers.

“I spoke to some Netflix employees before Monster came out and they said, “This is going to go live in 190 different countries at the same time,” Chavez says VF. “I thought, Wow, the magnitude of this is really hard to comprehend.”

“I feel like the same person,” Koch tells me about his life afterwards.Monster. “The only difference is that we made a big TV show and everyone is talking about it. There were some overwhelming feelings, exciting feelings, scared feelings, happy feelings. They are all things.”

Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez in episode 202 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story.

Courtesy of NETFLIX

Chávez and Koch took very different approaches to this Monster. Chavez was born in Houston around the turn of the millennium and spent most of his childhood in Denver doing typical boy things – playing soccer, snowboarding. It wasn't until he spent a summer at Camp Rising Sun, a full-scholarship international leadership program for youth, that he came into contact with theater. “This guy from Egypt, Marwan, who is now my best friend showed me the way Into the forest and make me a cow,” he says. “I remember being so nervous when all the girls came to the boys camp to see the play and I was dressed like a cow.”

Koch also had his first experiences with acting as a child, albeit in a completely different way. He grew up in Woodland Hills, California, a suburb of Los Angeles similar to Calabasas. His mother took him and his twin brother to community theater when they were five years old. “My brother and I had a manager for a second and we auditioned for commercials and some movies and TV shows but kept having to be pulled out of school,” he says. “We really didn't like that.” While there was no child star in sight for Koch, his love for theater, especially musical theater, blossomed. “I grew up with musicals,” he said. “I really liked Sondheim Into the forest And West Side Story.”

Nicholas Alexander Chavez

NINO MUÑOZ/NETFLIX

Chavez capitalized on his small but distinguished role as Milky White the cow by joining his high school's speech and debate team and soon took on the role of Atticus Finch in his high school's production To kill a mockingbird after the original lead actor fell ill. With the encouragement of his teachers, he applied to acting schools and attended them for two years before striking out on his own. “My first foray into the real world was hit by a global pandemic,” Chavez said. To make ends meet, he took odd jobs – selling life insurance and cars. “If there’s a product, I’ve probably sold it at some point,” he says.

Koch also felt the pain of rejection early in adulthood. “I auditioned for all the musical theater schools,” Koch said. “I thought I was going to be a musical theater guy. I want to be on Broadway.” The world had other plans: “I didn't get into a musical theater school.” He did, however, get into Pace University in downtown Manhattan. “I absolutely loved it,” he says. “It really taught me to be myself.”