Javier Bardem has opened up on the “ethical line” that actors have to tread when starring in projects that focus on sensitive material, such as his current Netflix show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story.
Controversy has surrounded the true crime series, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, which covered the crimes of the ‘Milwaukee Cannibal’ Jeffrey Dahmer in its first season.
The new season, which premiered on Netflix on 19 September, looks at the crimes committed by Lyle and Erik Menendez, which Erik Menendez has called a “dishonest portrayal”.
The Menendez brothers were convicted of the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty. They were arrested for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder outside their home in March 1990 and sentenced to life in prison in 1996. In 2024, new evidence emerged that has the potential to set them free.
In an interview with Sky News, Bardem, who plays the brother’s father Jose in the Netflix show, has extended his “respect” to Erik Menendez and his right to express any “like or dislike” about his portrayal in the show.
“That being said, the ethical line that you have to do in portraying someone in as delicate a show as this, is to leave out your judgement and focus on the curiosity of the material,” said the Spanish star.
“Just do the job and deposit all the trust in the creators to present it to the people with no statement,” he added. “It’s more about different visions and different views from different people in the show and everything is still open for interpretation. As an actor, you have to be open to that.“
Erik Menéndez’s wife, Tammi Menéndez, released a statement from 24 family members criticising the “repulsive” storytelling on Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story.
“We are virtually the entire extended family of Erik and Lyle Menéndez. We are 24 strong and today we want the world to know we support Erik and Lyle,” the statement reads. “We individually and collectively pray for their release after being imprisoned for 35 years. We know them, love them, and want them home with us.
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“Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story is a phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations.
“Our family has been victimised by this grotesque shockudrama.
“Murphy claims he spent years researching the case but in the end relied on debunked Dominick Dunne, the pro-prosecution hack, to justify his slander against us and never spoke to us.
“The character assassination of Erik and Lyle, who are our nephews and cousins, under the guise of a ‘storytelling narrative’ is repulsive.”