Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem is perhaps the most warm and friendly actor you could meet, but his resume is often filled with inhabiting terrifying villains, whether it’s Anton Chigurh in the Coen Brothers‘ No Country for Old Men, or Bond villain Raoul Silva in Skyfall. He never misses a beat, playing them convincingly and colorfully. But his darkest role to date might just be playing José Menendez on the Netflix show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, following the high-profile parricide case that captivated the nation in the ’90s.
In the second instalment of the Monster anthology series (Dahmer was the first), Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan tell the story of the two brothers Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch), who fatally shot their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez (Chloë Sevigny) in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
“I thought it was very inspiring, very freeing as an actor to try different tones or different scenarios on the same character.”
Javier Bardem
The brothers claimed years of abuse as the reason for murdering their parents, while prosecutors argued that getting their family fortune was the real motive. Both were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In a candid video interview, Bardem discussed the artistic and personal journey of bringing this complex character to life. He constructed the character based on the facts that have been proven, since only Lyle and Erik know what really happened, and no one cannot determine the parents’ point of view, so it was about building a character from different perspectives, depending on who’s telling the story, he said.
“I thought it was very inspiring, very freeing as an actor to try different tones or different scenarios on the same character, and also knowing that Chloe and I will have our episode where we can tell our own story and see which is more important, where all these things came from — which is [Menendez’s] own childhood and his own trauma,” said Bardem.
Generational trauma is a key theme that’s often pointed out on the show. While Lyle and Erik detail the physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents, Jose is also shown grieving his own abuse that he suffered by his parents during his childhood.
The nine-episode series, which is now playing on Netflix, is intentionally ambiguous and doesn’t take a side, but instead poses the question: Who are the real monsters? Viewers are left to make their own decision as the creators used the Rashomon approach, thereby giving different accounts from different POVs based on research theories and court testimonies. It’s sensitively told and this was perhaps the best method to tell this story — each of them are given an episode to tell their truth, thereby leaving it to viewers to discuss and form their own opinions.
For Bardem, the artistic freedom was both liberating and daunting for the seasoned actor, who worked with Murphy to create the character. He praised the attention to detail and the high-quality production elements that allowed him to immerse himself in the role.
“It was a very delicate process,” he admitted. “I sat down with Ryan Murphy and talked about it, and he’s a champion. He really worked so hard and made everybody so comfortable, because he really is the first one to show up and the last one to leave the set.”
“There were lots of echoes still in the society where men should be one way and one way only: tough and hard, driven and treating others with whatever it takes to make themselves be respected — or feared, even. That’s so wrong, and we’re still living on that.”
Javier Bardem
He continued, “He’s working hard on the research and making sure that everything is really accurate. Now, it’s open to interpretation, and there are certain things that we don’t know. What I had to do was to really trust his perception, knowing that he’s always surrounded by the best people in the industry. Like, when you go to a set, the sets are amazing, the wardrobe, the sound, the light, the photography. I mean, everything is top notch. And of course, the cast — he’s always so good at making the cast choices. Those two kids are mesmerizingly good. So, I just sat down and relaxed and enjoyed the ride.”
That being said, there’s no doubt that Bardem felt the weight of this role — the personal impact on him was profound. Working on this series for six months, making his TV series regular debut, allowed the actor to reflect on what it means to be a father, a family member, and a functioning member of society. It allowed him to think about the importance of deconstructing traditional masculinity and the societal expectations of men that still continues to this day.
When asked about this, the Spanish actor said, “Absolutely. That applied to me in recognizing how important it is to really deconstruct the idea of what a man should be. I’m 55 years old. I was raised in that society. There were lots of echoes still in the society where men should be one way and one way only: tough and hard, driven and treating others with whatever it takes to make themselves be respected — or feared, even. That’s so wrong, and we’re still living on that.”
“And unfortunately, to my surprise, younger generations all around the world are still acting on that and hurting women, hurting families. I knew that, but after doing this show, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, José Menendez was such a victim of that. That has to be absolutely dismantled.’”
So what makes a “monster” in today’s society? Bardem’s response is simple, yet important: childhood and education. “To be neglected and to be abused,” he said. “There are different types of abuse. Children under a war situation are abused as well by killing their childhood, so that can create so much pain and so much fear that — if you’re incapable of dealing with it and healing it from a point of view, whatever it takes — you can create so much pain around you.”
Bardem’s nuanced perspective on the complexities of human nature and the societal factors that can shape a person’s path is a testament to his understanding of the human psyche. It’s perhaps what lent to his chilling and, at times, sympathetic portrayal of José, a man with the American dream for his family, while also having experienced childhood trauma.
Bardem’s performance, as well as that of Chavez, Koch, Sevigny and Nathan Lane (who plays journalist Dominick Dunne) has captivated audiences and sparked conversations about what might have happened on that fateful day, as well as debates on the complex interplay between societal expectations, trauma and the human condition.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a thought-provoking exploration of the darkness that can lurk within the human psyche stemming from childhood, and its echoes will be felt long after watching it.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is now streaming on Netflix.
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