THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, scripted true crime stories produced by Ryan Murphy have proven to be platforms for actors to both see their stars rise and potentially earn some awards attention. American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson played host to some incredible performances from people like Sterling K. Brown and Courtney B. Vance, while that franchise’s second installment, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, was led by a transcendent performance by Darren Criss.
One of Murphy’s latest deep dives into the true crime pool (along with American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, currently airing on FX/Hulu) is Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which is the second in the super-producer’s Monster franchise (this first of which focused on Jeffrey Dahmer). The first Monster season earned a Primetime Emmy for Niecey Nash (who played Glenda Cleveland), along with nominations for both Evan Peters (as Dahmer) and Richard Jenkins (as Lionel Dahmer).
Monsters, in turn, has plenty of opportunities for actors to pop off. The biggest names involved are Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny, who play the twins’s parents, José and Kitty Menendez. And while other notable names—Nathan Lane and Ari Graynor, to name a few—are involved, its the titular roles that are at the center of everything that happens, obviously. And both Lyle and Erik Menendez (brothers, not twins) are played by relative upcoming newcomers to the world of film and television.
Older brother Lyle Menendez (as played by Nicholas Alexander Chavez) is shown to be the more controlling and demanding of the two brothers, holding his ground throughout the series and helping to put their notorious plan of parricide into action.
We should note that the Menendez family has slammed Monsters as a “dishonest portrayal” of what really happened, and, as with every Murphy-produced true crime series, you’re probably best served to take everything you’re seeing play out on screen with at least a couple grains of salt. But if you’re wondering who plays Lyle Menendez—and where you may have seen him before, and where, if you’re reading this story, you’ll almost certainly see him again—we’ve got you covered.
Stream Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Here
Nicholas Alexander Chavez plays Lyle Menendez on Netflix’s Monsters—and is set to star in another Ryan Murphy show, Grotesquerie, as well
Nicohlas Alexander Chavez, who plays Lyle Menendez in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, was both an athlete and an actor in school, eventually choosing to pursue acting after his mentor cast him as Atticus Finch in a production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Chavez was attending the drama school at Rutgers when he left after two years to pursue acting full time… but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He returned to Florida, working odd jobs while submitting self-tapes for acting jobs. Eventually one hit—he played Spencer Cassadine in 358 episodes (over a three year period) on General Hospital, before catching Murphy’s attention and getting cast in Monsters.
But Monsters isn’t his only project with Ryan Murphy. He’s also a series regular in Grotesquerie, Murphy’s new horror/thriller show about a series of violent deaths in a small community (which debuts on FX/Hulu on September 25). Not much more is known about the show, but Chavez plays “Father Charlie,” joining a cast that includes Murphy regulars Niecey Nash, Courtney B. Vance, and a newcomer by the name of Travis Kelce.
Stream Grotesquerie Here
