Latest news with #Menendez:BloodBrothers
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cooper Koch says he auditioned to play a Menendez brother in two other productions before Netflix series
, star of Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez, has revealed that prior to landing the role of Erik Menendez in the hit Netflix series, he had auditioned to play one of the brothers in not one, but two other TV productions. Koch recently appeared in conversation with actor Sam Nivola as part of Variety's Actors On Actors interview series. Whilst speaking with Nivola, he admitted that he had his sights set on playing one of the brothers for years before landing his big break in last year's series. 'My second audition ever was for the Law & Order series about them in 2017,' he revealed. 'And then I also had an audition for the Lifetime movie that they were doing the same year. I just felt like this insane cosmic, universe-y thing that was like, 'I have to play this part,'' Koch told Nivola. 'It was just that immense empathy that you feel for a person, and I had to do it'. And this immense empathy.' Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders was released in 2017, starring Gus Halper and Miles Gaston Villanueva as Erik and Lyle respectively. Edie Falco also starred as Leslie Abramson, the defense attorney who represented the brothers. The Lifetime movie Menendez: Blood Brothers was released that same year, starring as Nico Tortorella as Lyle and Myko Olivier as Erik. Hole frontwoman Courtney Love also starred as the brothers' mother Kitty. View this post on Instagram A post shared by popandfilms 🏳️🌈 (@popandfilms) Koch also said that he felt connected to the brothers for a number of reasons, including that they both attended the same Calabasas high school. 'There are all these weird parallels,' he said. 'I still care so deeply about both of them. They're going to parole board in June; that looks very positive,' he went on to say. The actor has been open about his support for the brothers throughout the promotional campaign for the show, saying : 'It is my firm belief that the Menéndez Brothers did not receive a fair second trial and all the evidence that supported their claims of sexual, psychological, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their mother and father were not considered.' Koch also recalled his rigorous prepation for the playing Menendez, telling Nivola he poured over recordings of the brother for months before shooting: 'I listened to him every night before I went to bed. I had him on in the car when I was driving,' he recalled. 'I really did want to get his voice and mannerisms, because they all further support that he was being sexually abused by his father. I know there's so many perspectives, but I always wanted the audience to sympathise with him.' The performer would later go on to be nominated for a Golden Globe award for his turn in the series. The post Cooper Koch says he auditioned to play a Menendez brother in two other productions before Netflix series appeared first on Attitude.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cooper Koch reveals two failed auditions to play Menendez brother—here's who beat him
Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images Cooper Koch Cooper Koch is nothing if not tenacious! The 28-year-old actor broke out in 2024 for starring in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story as Erik Menendez. His impassioned performance led to a Golden Globe nomination, a spot in Variety's Actors on Actors interviews, and millions of fans. In his Actors on Actors interview — a web series hosted by Variety — Koch was paired up with The White Lotus star Sam Nivola. The two discussed playing characters defined by their relationships to their brothers, working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and how they got their breakout roles. Fans already knew that Koch was passionate about the Menendez brothers, speaking out about their real-life case and even visiting them in prison. Now, we know how deep that passion goes. Cooper Koch and Sam Nivola haven't met before, but form an instant bond in the Actors on Actors studio. They discuss what it ... - YouTube During his appearance on Variety's "Actors on Actors," Koch revealed that he had actually — literally — auditioned for the 2017 limited season dubbed Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders that centered on the Menendez brothers (Koch's second audition ever). And Koch had also auditioned for the 2017 Lifetime movie Menendez: Blood Brothers, once again not booking the role. "I just felt like this insane cosmic, universe-y thing that was like, 'I have to play this part,'" Koch told Nivola in their one-on-one interview. "It was just that immense empathy that you feel for a person, and I had to do it." Koch eventually earned his chance to play one of the Menendez brothers on Ryan Murphy's Monsters series on Netflix. The series was so successful that it propelled Koch to become a household name around the world, and a legitimate Emmy contender, too. However, Koch's revelation did some spark a curiosity within us: Who the heck were the other actors who beat him in those auditions for the Lifetime movie and the limited season of Law & Order? Nico Tortorella starred as Lyle Menendez in Menendez: Blood Brothers when he was 29 years old. The Shield star Benito Martinez played the Menendez patriarch José, and musician Courtney Love played the mother, Kitty Menendez. Tortorella was already a rising star at the time, having played Trevor Sheldon in Scream 4, and starred in the TV shows The Beautiful Life, Make It or Break It, The Following, and Younger. After those shows, Tortorella has often appeared as himself, including on RuPaul's Drag Race and Legendary as a guest judge, and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race as a competitor. Over the years, Tortorella came out as bisexual, genderfluid, and polyamorous. The actor also got married to Bethany C. Meyers in 2018, and they have two kids together. Before playing Erik Menendez in Menendez: Blood Brothers, Myko Olivier had many small roles in television and short films, including the MTV series Awkward, Zendaya's Disney series K.C. Undercover, Nickelodeon's Sam & Cat with Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande. He also starred in Glee as one of the Warblers. Since then, Olivier has continued to steadily work on shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Code Black, Doctor Odyssey, and Good Trouble, where he played Tyler Banks for nine episodes. Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders aired in 2017 and starred Edie Falco as defense attorney Leslie Abramson. Actor Gus Halper played Erik Menendez in the series. Before Law & Order, he had landed roles in TV shows such as Power and Chicago P.D. Halper's career took off after this performance on Law & Order, and he was soon starring in shows like Happy!, Madam Secretary, Ramy, Dickinson, Evil, Fear the Walking Dead, and Law & Order: Organized Crime. In 2023, he appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Rustin as civil rights activist Tom Kahn alongside Colman Domingo (who played the title character). On Law & Order, Lyle Menendez was played by actor Miles Gaston Villanueva. Villanueva made his name in Hollywood starring in 87 episodes of The Young and the Restless, while also appearing in shows like NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Bones, and Jane the Virgin. Villanueva has continued his successful TV career, starring in eight episodes of The Resident, seven episodes of Nancy Drew, and seven episodes of Bosch: Legacy. He also appeared on the gritty superhero show The Boys as Supersonic, where he played a hero with sound-based powers. Supersonic was formerly a member of an all-super boy band called Super-Sweet — and he even dated Starlight.
