Cooper Koch on Erik Menendez Role: “It Means the World”
Cooper Koch reflects on his Emmy-nominated turn as Erik Menendez in Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ and looks ahead to new roles.
Cooper Koch has gone from rising actor to Emmy nominee thanks to his breakout role as Erik Menendez in Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The Los Angeles native says the recognition feels huge: “This is the big TV one, so yeah, it means the world. I feel so honored,” he told The Playlist.
The series revisits the infamous 1989 case, and Koch immersed himself in Erik’s world without ever meeting him, relying instead on extensive archival footage. His most demanding challenge came in episode five, a 34-minute one-shot centered almost entirely on him. Koch recalls crying when he first got the script, describing it as the moment his acting work “culminated.”
He credits co-star 
Ari Graynor, who plays defense attorney Leslie Abramson, with anchoring his performance. With Monsters behind him, Koch is currently filming Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial.