“Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has been viewed for more than 1 billion hours, but it also came with a great deal of backlash. Many of the victims’ families claimed they were not contacted — a claim that creator Ryan Murphy denies — and some viewers were upset that the focus was more on Jeffrey Dahmer than the victims.
“I was never interested in Jeffrey Dahmer, the monster. I was interested in what made him. I think that the fact that all of the characters in this are seen as true humans makes some people uncomfortable. I understand that and I try not to have an opinion on that,” he tells Variety. “We always tried to center everything on the victims.”
One person that Murphy and “Dahmer” research team — who spent more than three years doing the research around the show — didn’t contact was the killer’s father, Lionel, portrayed excellently by Richard Jenkins in the show. Lionel released a memoir, “A Father’s Story,” about his son in 1994, months before Dahmer was killed in prison.
The author is reportedly considering filing a lawsuit against the streamer for both the drama and the Netflix docuseries, “Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.” Murphy didn’t see a reason to contact him ahead of filming.
“I’ve done many biopics. It’s almost like you’re being a reporter; I always try and keep a place of neutrality. I think that we were telling a very specific story,” he says. “I think Lionel’s told his story. This was not that story.”
During a recent panel for the show, Jenkins opened up about portraying Lionel, and noted that he was hesitant to sign on when he first heard it was about Dahmer. Then he read the first three episodes.
“It immediately interested me because, as a father, it’s an incredibly complex human that they’ve written. It’s one of the most complete people I’ve ever played. It was just really amazing. I kept thinking to myself, ‘If Jeffrey Dahmer is your son, do you stop loving him?’ And you don’t,” he said. “How do you deal with the fact that Jeffrey Dahmer is your child? Is it your fault? Did you not see something? Lionel Dahmer wrote a book, called ‘A Father’s Story,’ that’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a beautifully written book, and it’s a cautionary tale to say, ‘I missed this stuff, but if you have kids, don’t let this stuff go by. Listen to your children when they’re trying to tell you something.’ The last thing I thought about a Jeffrey Dahmer [project] is that it would be so human, but that’s what [Ryan] wrote. It was beautiful.”
“Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is now streaming on Netflix. The anthology has been renewed for a second and third season.
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