Sep 23
'Monsters' Star Cooper Koch on the Rise Once More
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
After commanding notice in two 2022 movies – the queer teen slasher flick "They/Them" and queer horror flick "Swallowed" – Cooper Koch is headed for stardom with Ryan Murphy's new true crime series '"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."
The out actor, 28, plays younger brother Erik Menendez, who, suffering guilt and trauma after he and his brother Lyle kill their parents by repeatedly blasting them with shotguns, confesses the crime to his therapist. Eventually, word makes its way to the police – who already suspect the brothers – and the world is transfixed by the ensuing trial, in no small part thanks to the brothers' sexual magnetism as well as the sensational nature of the crime, and of their defense: The brothers claimed to have been subjected to years of childhood abuse.
The series plays up the sex appeal and goes so far as to hint at a homoerotic attraction between the brothers – an angle that has drawn some criticism to the show.
Koch's status as an out gay actor may lend an additional frisson of gay subtext to the series. While that plays into "Monsters," as well as his films from 2022 – his character in "Swallowed" was an aspiring gay porn star, and Koch was paired in that film with Jose Colon, with their characters sharing a friendship with overtones of same-sex attraction – Koch previously told EDGE that his career suffered, with an acting coach telling him that his "gay voice" was attributable to a period in which he wasn't booking any work.
Koch was ready to face any Hollywood homophobia head-on.
"I have a thick skin and at this point in my life, I've, you know, been through bullying when I was a kid, I've been fired from a pilot because of it," the actor told EDGE.
"But I also don't tolerate it anymore. I just will turn the other way and walk away. And also, it's like, yeah, if you're gonna have that kind of opinion or you're not gonna wanna work with me because my voice sounds a certain way or because I walk or talk or move my hands in a certain way, then I don't wanna work with you either, babe."
Koch's dry spell seems to be over now, with "Monsters" a monster hit for Netflix. Who knows what the talented thesp will do next?
"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" is streaming now. Watch a trailer below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
