Who is Cooper Koch? Meet Monsters' Erik Menendez actor

However, there's been nothing but praise for the performances of Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch, the rising stars who play Lyle and Erik in the series.

While Koch has a number of roles under his belt, his appearance in Monsters marks his biggest role yet.

Wondering where you’ve seen the actor before? Read on for everything you need to know about the actor, including what he's previously starred in.

Who is Cooper Koch?

Koch is an American actor best known for his role in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which is his first leading part in a major TV series.

He plays the youngest Menendez brother, Erik, in the latest instalment of the Monster series.

Koch isn’t the only member of his family that’s managed to break into the TV industry, with his twin brother, Payton Koch, having worked behind the camera on several Ryan Murphy shows including Only Murders in the Building and Ratched.

How old is Cooper Koch?

The actor is 28 years old at the time of writing.

Despite playing the younger Menendez sibling, Koch is actually 3 years older than Chavez.

What has Cooper Koch previously starred in?

While his role in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story marks his biggest role yet, the actor has previously appeared in Power Book II: Ghost, The 2020 film A New York Christmas Wedding and the 2022 Peacock thriller They/ Them.

He also starred in the 2022 body-horror movie Swallowed.

He might have bagged a role in one of the biggest shows of the year, but in 2022, Koch said he wasn’t "being offered any roles" at all.

Speaking to Edge Media Network, he said that during a conversation with an unnamed acting teacher about why he wasn’t getting any parts despite frequently auditioning, he admitted that he wasn’t sure, to which she replied: "Well, you have a gay voice."

Koch went on to suggest that has was let go while making a pilot for a new TV series for a similar reason.

"I have a thick skin and at this point in my life, I’ve been through bullying when I was a kid, I’ve been fired from a pilot because of it," he said. "But I also don’t tolerate it any more. I will just walk away.

"If you’re gonna have that kind of opinion, or you’re not gonna want to 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 want to work with you either, babe."

What has Cooper Koch said about starring in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story?

Speaking about the measures he went through to put himself in the younger Menendez brother’s shoes, Koch told TheWrap: "I turned my trailer into Erik’s room so I had clothes everywhere, and I had pictures of him on the wall, pictures of me too.

"I looked at videos of me when I was really young, and I watched how my parents treated me, which gave me a level of gratitude for my family and my parents.

"I listened to [Erik] and watched him religiously. And I had my music, I had all different kinds of journals, all different kinds of things to help me really feel like him and be him."

Meanwhile, reacting to the backlash the show has been met with, Cooper recently told Variety: “I knew that this was a very controversial story, and that people were going to be upset and affected by what they were seeing. I think, though, you do have to put it into context of the situation, and that we’re sort of painting a picture based on what somebody else’s perspective was.

“It’s not necessarily the truth of what happened. That’s just what Dominick Dunne [the journalist, portrayed in the show by Nathan Lane] thinks and there I think are other places in the story where it’s sort of planted to give people all of these different perspectives...”

He added: “I think the goal of the show is to put all those perspectives together and let the audience be the jury. And at the end of the show, you just make your decision on what you believe. And I think it’s a really interesting way of telling the story and just storytelling in general.”

Is Cooper Koch on Instagram?

No, but he does appear in his brother Payton’s Instagram posts.

To celebrate the release of Monsters, Payton shared a tribute to his twin alongside some behind-the-scenes photos of Cooper filming.

"Have never felt more proud of another human being. I love you so much and am so so happy for you."

Is Cooper Koch on Twitter?

No, not at present.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is now streaming on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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