Niecy Nash ‘Prayed’ For Evan Peters While He Played Jeffrey Dahmer: ‘I Know What It Cost Him’

Evan Peters won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and his Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story co-star Niecy Nash opened up about the toll the Netflix series took on the actor. Here’s what Nash said about “praying” for Peters throughout the filming process.

Niecy Nash said she ‘prayed’ for Evan Peters while he portrayed Jeffrey Dahmer

In February, Evan Peters and Niecy Nash did a joint interview for Backstage Magazine to discuss Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Peters, who played real-life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, opened up about how he stayed grounded while working with such a heavy subject matter. 

“Well, Niecy!” he answered, crediting his co-star for lightening the atmosphere on set. “You’re so warm and funny and lovely and an amazing person. I think you saw me and my process. And I don’t know if you know this or not, but it was so helpful to me that you checked in.”

Nash, who played Dahmer’s neighbor Glenda Cleveland, revealed that she “prayed” for Peters because she knew how difficult it was to embody such a dark character. “I loved checking on Evan, because he needed somebody to check on him,” she said. “And when I didn’t check on him, I prayed for him. Because this work was weighty.”

The Reno 911! star continued, “I knew what it cost him. I knew what it cost him to have the weight of all of it on his shoulders. That was a lot. He needed to be covered; he needed to be cared for.”

Evan Peters has shared the toll it takes on his mental health to play dark, violent characters like Jeffrey Dahmer

Evan Peters is no stranger to playing murderers, although the characters he portrays are usually fictional. He has played villainous roles on several seasons of American Horror Story, sometimes depicting disturbing acts of violence. 

In a 2018 interview with GQ, Peters shared how challenging it was for him to take on darker characters. “It’s been all a massive stretch for me and really difficult to do. It’s hurting my soul and Evan as a person,” the actor said. “There’s this massive amount of rage that’s been called upon from me, and the emotional stuff that’s been called on me for Pose has been heartbreaking, and I’m sick. I don’t feel good.”

In October 2022, Peters told The Hollywood Reporter how he combated the darkness that came with portraying Jeffrey Dahmer. “Doing the role, I wanted to give it 120 percent the whole way through, so I brought in a lot of darkness and negativity,” he said. “It was just having that end goal in sight, knowing when we were going to wrap and finally being able to breathe and let it go and say, ‘OK, now it’s time to bring in the joy and the lightness and watch comedies and romances and go back to St. Louis and see my family and friends and yeah, watch Step Brothers.’”

Niecy Nash said she ‘didn’t know’ her co-star during filming

Niecy Nash has said that Evan Peters got so into character while playing Jeffrey Dahmer for the Netflix show that she hardly recognized him. 

“He was so deep in character,” she recalled (per GoldDerby). “People would say, ‘What is Evan like?’ And I would say, ‘I don’t know! I don’t know the man.’ Because in his process, I respected his need to keep the distance and the tension so that it played out on screen. Because I’m coming in, initially, like ‘Hey! How you doin’? Good morning!’ and he’s like, ‘No, ma’am.’ And I was like, oh, he’s in his process and I want to keep him there.”

The Scream Queens actor mentioned again that she prayed for her Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story co-star. “I prayed for him a lot because this was weighty. When you’re tethered to the material like bone to marrow, your soul is troubled at some point,” she said. “I could see him getting tired. I just said, ‘I’m just going to make sure I keep him in my prayers.’ Because this is a lot and he wants to do it justice.”