“'Monsters' Actor Lyle Menendenz Talks 'Intense Preparation' for Role”

Nicholas Alexander Chavez is enjoying a breakout performance with starring roles in two of Ryan Murphy's latest projects: the Netflix miniseries “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and FX's upcoming Catholic horror fable “Grotesquerie.” In a Monday press conference to promote the latter series, Chavez discussed that the two productions required different approaches since one is based on real events and the other is a fictional story.

“Ryan is a world builder. It was interesting because I got to work with him in two very, very different worlds. “The Menendez Project already had a context set in which we would tell the story based on true events from 1989 and the early 1990s,” Chavez said. “In contrast, this project was a completely new world where the only limits were our creativity and imagination. It was interesting just being thrown into the depths of what Ryan is capable of. It was an honor and a privilege to experience both.”

In “Grotesquerie,” Chavez plays Father Charlie Mayhew, an enlightened priest who is confronted with new revelations after a meeting with Detective Lois Tryon, played by the series' lead, Niecy Nash-Betts. Meanwhile, Chavez leads “Monsters” as Lyle Menendez, the older sibling of Erik (Cooper Koch). The brothers became household names when their murder trial was televised in the early 1990s. The two were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for the murder of their parents.

During Monday's interview, Chavez also explained that he went from “Monsters” to “Grotesquerie” pretty quickly and had little time to switch.

“There was no time in between and there was no compression,” Chavez said. “One of the nicer things about playing Father Charlie is that I could really just follow my impulses. I just trusted my instincts. Everyone around me has enabled me to make really bold decisions. With Lyle, there was intense, intense preparation. This was more of a raw, unbridled impulse.”

FX's “Grotesquerie” premieres Wednesday with the first hour of its 10-episode season. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is now available to stream on Netflix.