Ryan Murphy Compares Evan Peters to Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro: ‘One of the Greatest of All Time’
Evan Peters has worked with Ryan Murphy several times, including in Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, in which Peter played the titular serial killer. Here’s what Murphy said about Peters, who recently received his first Golden Globe nomination.
Evan Peters and Ryan Murphy have worked together extensively
Show creator and producer Ryan Murphy has used Evan Peters in many of his projects. Peters is one of the only actors to appear in nearly every season of the popular anthology series American Horror Story, often portraying dark, violent characters. He also starred as Stan Bowes in Murphy’s Pose.
When it came to finding the right actor to portray infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Murphy knew Peters would be perfect for the role. The show creator told The Hollywood Reporter that the AHS star had previously expressed to Murphy that he wanted to play someone “normal” and perhaps try a romantic comedy. The producer auditioned about 100 people for Dahmer before going to Peters with the script.
“He called me the next day, and he said, ‘It’s so challenging. It’s so difficult that I kind of have to say yes to it, even though I’m terrified of it,’” Murphy said.
Ryan Murphy compared Evan Peters to Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro
On Dec. 12, Ryan Murphy shared an Instagram post praising Evan Peters. He said they have known each other for over a decade, and the actor gives “200 percent” to his roles.
“I have known Evan and been friends with him for over ten years,” Murphy wrote. “I first met him when he auditioned to play Jessica Lange’s son Tate on the very first season of ‘American Horror Story.’ After their first scene together Jessica said to me ‘This kid is incredible.’ He is now — as he was then — the sweetest, kindest person and an absolute consumate [sic] professional who gives 200 percent.”
Murphy lauded Peters’ performance in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, comparing him to two of the most famous actors. “With his role as Jeffrey Dahmer, he’s shown the world that he really is one of our industry’s best actors,” Murphy wrote. “His talent is raw and extreme and disciplined and to me he’s like a young DeNiro [sic] or DiCaprio — just one of the greatest of all time. Congratulations to Evan on an incredible year.”
The ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ star called the show creator an ‘incredible support system’
In a December interview with Variety, Ryan Murphy and Evan Peters shared that the actor wasn’t sure he would take on the role of Jeffrey Dahmer. “It was a real struggle,” Peters said. “I was really thinking about it and trying to process it. I went back and forth a lot.”
Ultimately, he said yes because he was so comfortable working with Murphy. “I knew that you’re an incredible support system and I trust you and there’s an honesty there,” he told Murphy. “I knew that, with the goal in mind of finishing this thing as strong as I started it, that you would create a great safety net. If I fell down, I could get back up and we could finish this thing. I was up for the challenge.”
