Charlie Hunnam Immersed Himself in theโข Roleโ ofโ Ed Gein, Driven by a โฃdesire to Understand โคthe “Person Beneath the Illness”
Plainfield, Wisconsin – Charlie Hunnam’sโ portrayalโค of serial killer Ed Gein in netflix’s Monster: โThe Ed Gein story hasโฃ been lauded by co-stars andโ theโฃ series โฃcreator as a deeply committed and unsettling performance. Hunnam reportedly spent approximately 80% of theโฃ time on set fully embodying Gein, adopting โฃhis voice and demeanor to create a disturbingly โฃauthentic atmosphere.
The series explores the tragic originsโ ofโฃ Gein’s descent into violence, beginning withโฃ the death of his son โขand the subsequent strokeโ and death of his โขmother, ultimately leading to his โisolated existence and the escalating murders in Plainfield, Wisconsin. According โขto Hunnam, the story is “really about mental health and the consequences of abuse and isolation.”
Suzanna Son, whoโค playsโฃ Adeline Watkins, Gein’s morbidly curious love interest, praised Hunnam’s dedication. “Whatโข a gift to โwork alongside Charlie. He โwas in characterโฆand that made my job allโ theโค easier because he’s building the world for me to live in,” she โคsaid.
Tyler Jacob Moore, portraying Sheriff Schley, โwho โarrested Gein in 1957, described his initial reaction to Hunnam’s conversionโข as “shocking,” adding that it “never got easier toโ deal with him as Edโฆbecause he was Ed when he was on set.”
Ryan Murphy, co-creatorโข of โ Glee, Scream Queens, Hollywood, and The Watcher, and writer/co-director ofโฃ Monster, โฃemphasized Hunnam’s focusโข on the humanity within the notorious killer. Brennan stated, “He was very much not interested in just playing a villain or a โgoul.โ He really wanted to find the person beneath allโ this โขillness.” Brennan โขhighlighted a pivotal scene in episode seven – Gein’s diagnosis โand medication โfor schizophrenia – as a single-take performance that “entirely makes the whole show.”
Murphy previously told The Hollywood Reporter in Augustโ that this season ofโ Monster was โขhis most extraordinary work โคto date, calling it “a really rich,โ very weird, extremelyโข upsetting, very emotional, deeply funny season of television.”
All eight episodes of Monster: The Ed Gein Story are currently streaming on โNetflix.
