“We weren’t so much interested in Jeffrey Dahmer the monster. We were interested in who was complicit in making the monster,” said Ryan Murphy of his television phenomenon.
It’s been a fruitful year for Ryan Murphy and company. After a decade of finessing the horrific story of Jeffrey Dahmer, we finally got to see his opus on screen. Despite the protracted delays, Murphy was glad that the project took so long to bring to fruition. He hired researchers, he reached out to friends and families of the victims, he abridged or merged certain characters, but for the most part, they remained true to the events. “As artists, we had something to say.”
Murphy’s patience was rewarded by over one billion streaming hours globally. Murphy and his cast isn’t sure why the TV series is so popular. It’s an inexplicable surprise. As artists, we should appreciate these wins without overthinking.
Creative Screenwriting Magazine attended a press conference with creator Ryan Murphy and cast members Evan Peters, who played Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Jenkins, who played Jeffrey’s father Lionel, and Niecy Nash-Betts who played Jeffrey’s neighbour Glenda Cleveland, who repeatedly alerted the police to Dahmer before they finally acted.
Murphy gave his cast considerable time for his cast to decide how to play their characters. Time well spent.
“Glenda protected me,” said Nash-Betts. “I got very emotional and cried like a baby. It is my prayer that wherever Glenda’s soul is resting, she finally feels heard.” Niecy almost buckled under the weight of what Glenda represented – not believed, not considered, being ignored, and outright dismissed as neurotic. “Glenda is not just one voice. Everybody knows a Glenda Cleveland.”
We’ve all been Glenda Cleveland. If we haven’t, we will be – Niecy Nash-Betts
Nash-Betts referenced episode seven when the police finally arrest Dahmer after accusing Glenda of abusing the 911 service. Jesse Jackson (Nigel Gibbs) became a prominent activist in the case since many victims were black or brown. He demanded police accountability for their negligence. This was a time when Glenda felt heard, not just listened to.
Ryan Murphy. Photo by Vivian Killilea for Getty Images/ Netflix
After the foul stench emanating from Dahmer’s apartment, clearly not from steaks gone bad after his refrigerator broke, the building manager finally evicted Jeffrey following a string of complaints from the traumatized Glenda. The menacing drilling and sawing sounds of bodies being dismembered at all hours exacerbated her trauma.
The tenants were also evicted from the Oxford Apartments due to the toxic nature of the chemicals Dahmer stored in his apartment. In an apparent reconciliatory manoeuvre, Jeffrey offered her a neighborly meat sandwich and asked her drop her complaint. She declined. She neither ate the sandwich nor withdrew her complaint.
This is an extraordinary dance between the two characters. “There was so much unknown,” said Neicy. It wasn’t clear who had the balance of power. “It’s a dance. There was reciprocity.” Did Jeffrey merely want Glenda to withdraw her complaint or punish her with a sandwich, possibly containing human remains. Or was she too going to meet her grisly demise? Eventually, she stood her ground and Jeffrey was obliged to leave. The stench lingered.
The considerable gestation period to bring Dahmer to the screen was a necessary part of the creative process. Murphy stated that they were casting the show for six months, but there was something missing. On a whim, Murphy told his casting director that he was going to contact Evan Peters. “I was terrified,” confessed Peters at the prospect of playing Jeffrey Dahmer after reading the first three scripts. “I was going back and forth about whether I should do it or not. It was incredibly dark.”
Becoming Jeffrey
Murphy recommended Peters watch the original Dateline interview with Jeffrey Dahmer in 1994. “In that, you really see how Dahmer speaks about what he did. I was fascinated by it and wanted to dive into the psychology of extreme human behaviors.” Evan Peters augmented his research by reading as many psychology books as he could, along with Dahmer’s confessions and timelines in an attempt to understand why he did what he did.
Part of Peters’ preparation for the role was to mimic Dahmer’s physicality. He wore weights on his arms and lifts in his shoes to practice the Dahmer distinct walk. Jeffrey walked upright with a very straight back and didn’t move his arms. He wore the glasses and had a cigarette in his hand at all times. Evans worked with a dialect coach to learn the cadence of Dahmer’s voice. Evans created forty-five minute speech composite to perfect Dahmer’s speech patterns to get into his mindset. “I wanted all this to be second nature to me. We did four months of prep and six months of shooting.”
Evan Peters also studied footage of Dahmer’s private moments when he wasn’t so self-conscious of his actions to get a glimpse into his specific mannerisms. Peters maintained this process and remained in character until shooting was complete. Such exhaustive work subjected Evan to emotional upheaval despite knowing that’s what actors do – immerse themselves in character. He had to counter each shooting day with activities to lock Jeffrey Dahmer away until the following shooting day. After a relentless period of darkness and negativity Evan Peters let the light and joy in with comedy movies such as Stepbrothers to decompress back into normality.
Evan Peters (Jeffrey Dahmer). Photo courtesy of Netflix
Richard Jenkins admitted that he was initially less than thrilled at being offered a role in another show about Jeffrey Dahmer. Ryan Murphy sent him the same three episodes as Evan Peters to consider. “As a father, I was immediately interested. Lionel is a complete and complex human being. What part did I play in this?”
If Jeffrey Dahmer was your son, would you stop loving him? – Richard Jenkins
Jenkins broke down the humanity of dealing with the fact that his son was who he was while processing the scripts. “Is it your fault? Did you not see something?” Jeffrey Dahmer’s actual father Lionel wrote a poignant book called A Father’s Story to give form to these thoughts. Jenkins considered the book to be a cautionary tale for parents. Take note of the red flags. “Listen to your children when they’re trying to tell you something,” warned Jenkins. Believe them when they tell you something’s wrong. He was also moved by the humanity of Jeffrey Dahmer despite his actions.
In a scene after Jeffrey was arrested, Lionel breaks down and blames himself for his son’s behavior. He too had similar thoughts and feelings. He needed some reasoning about what led this character to this place. “Actors weren’t just given their creative time and space. The were expected to find the lives of their characters,” added Richard.
Dahmer packed a mighty wallop in terms of social issues.”We tackled systemic racism, homophobia, and policing,” continued Murphy. Social commentary aside, they primarily wanted to honor the memories of the victims. Nash-Betts “felt a responsibility to get it right.” She couldn’t just be the loud-mouthed, nosy neighbour calling the police on too many occasions. She was persistent and stood by her convictions. “You got to experience this TV series through Glenda’s eyes because she saw it all. She was the town crier. She was the portal that said, ‘Are y’all seeing what I’m seeing? Is nobody gonna do anything?” said Neicy. She referenced the second episode where young victim Konerak Sinthasomphone (Kieran Tamondong) escapes, flags down the police, and they take him back to Dahmer’s apartment after pegging the situation down to a lovers’ quarrel. The police failed to register the importance of the situation because a black woman was doing the complaining and it involved a homosexual relationship. “Konerak met his demise and he didn’t have to.”
The television series explores white privilege. Jeffrey Dahmer basically got busted ten times but was released because he was white, young and the police didn’t want to see him ruin his life.
These are the reasons why Ryan Murphy made the TV series. It’s about a system that allows monsters to be made rather than glamorizing them. “That was always the DNA of the project,” he said.
Ryan Murphy also believes there is a zeitgeist about mental health that attracted audiences. “Every character in Dahmer has a moment where they discuss that idea.” Hopefully, it will raise public awareness.
