Before Evan Peters starred in Netflix’s ‘Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’, other actors played the serial killer, including a two-time Oscar-nominated star.
The Dahmer Series: Monster – The story of Jeffrey Dahmer continues to be talked about. This adaptation of one of the most sordid criminal cases in the United States returns to the case of the “Cannibal of Milwaukee”, responsible for the deaths of 17 men in 1978 and 1991. The program, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, offers to Evan Peters one of his greatest roles.
Before him, other actors had lent their features to the serial killer, such as Ross Lynch in the independent film My Friend Dahmer, but also Jeremy Renner, who has since become the famous Hawkeye for the Marvel universe. Twenty years ago, in 2002, he played the leading role in Dahmer written and directed by David Jacobson.
Unlike the Netflix mini-series, this feature film does not retrace his entire life. It focuses on a specific period, when the killer is employed in a chocolate factory. A few flashbacks nevertheless come to explore his adolescence and his complex relationships with his father and grandmother.
The film takes some liberties with reality and even goes so far as to invent a character, Rodney, played by Artel Great. His destiny is greatly inspired by Tracy Edwards since he too manages to escape the serial killer.
Upon its release, Dahmer received good reviews and notably enabled Jeremy Renner, who played the first important role of his career here, to make a name for himself in the industry.
DR Jeremy Renner in “Dahmer”.
For his performance, he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards – a prize ceremony which rewards independent films. In an interview for Interview Magazine, the actor reveals that he didn’t even know Jeffrey Dahmer before playing him. On his experience, he explains:Four days after reading the script, we started shooting and two weeks later, we were done. It was a real whirlwind.”
It is thanks to his interpretation in Dahmer that director Kathryn Bigelow spotted him for the film Minesweepers. His performance earned him an Oscar nomination in 2009.
Dahmer: Monster – The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available on Netflix