VALERIE MACON / AFP
Javier Bardem will headline season 2 of Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters” anthology.
CULTURE – A certain unease. Actor Javier Bardem explained in an article published Thursday, November 21 in Variety why he didn’t want to meet brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, currently in prison for the murder of their parents in 1989, before filming the series Monsters which traces their history.
In the series, Javier Bardem plays the father of the two brothers, José. “I didn’t want to” contact them, he says. “First of all, I didn’t know much about this story when Ryan Murphy (co-creator of the series, Editor’s note) told me about it, because it didn’t make the headlines in Spain”underlined the actor from the Canary Islands.
“When I started to get interested in it, I was like, ‘wow, this is a really sensitive subject.’”he continues. Sentenced to life, Lyle and Erik Menendez accuse their parents of sexual and psychological abuse. “Then I tried to read and look for sources so I could better understand who (José) was, but there was nothing. What we knew was what people and especially his sons said about him.” continues Javier Bardem.
The two brothers in court this Monday
“I knew I had to trust the research of Ryan and Ian Brennan (second creator of the series). Everything was written. So I said “I don’t need to talk to other people”. And I was also very, very… the word is not afraid, but I never felt able to sit down and talk to the murderers,” recognizes the actor already starring in Dune 2 this year and soon in the cartoon Ellian and the spell, in which he voices King Solon.
Given the ultra-sensitive role he had to play, Javier Bardem also told Variety having warned the set before filming: “At the beginning, I told them (…): let’s play this game which is a story for us and which requires a lot of effort from us as actors. But let’s not forget that it’s a game, a fiction. I will never put any of myself (into this character). Sometimes I might say or do things that aren’t written, but don’t take it personally. It’s José, Kitty (the mother), Erik and Lyle. »
VINCE BUCCI / AFP
Erik (left) and Lyle (right) Menéndez have already spent 34 years in prison for the murder of their parents.
This Monday, November 25, the two brothers are again expected in court in Los Angeles to present new evidence concerning the alleged abuse of their parents. If found admissible, they could be entitled to a new trial and have their sentences commuted. And even hope to get out of prison.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.fr
