Ryan Murphy has revealed that Evan Peters stayed in character as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer for "months".
During a panel on Saturday, series co-creator Murphy spoke with his stars Peters, Niecy Nash, and Richard Jenkins about the making of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Murphy told the panel audience that for the four months of preparation and six months of shooting, Peters wore lead weights on his arms and lifts in his shoes to emulate Dahmer's physicality.
Murphy also shared that Peters "basically stayed in this character, as difficult as it was, for months", reports Variety.
"He has a very straight back. He doesn't move his arms when he walks, so I put weights on my arms to see what that felt like," Peters explained. "I wore the character shoes with lifts in them, his jeans, his glasses, I had a cigarette in my hand at all times."
The actor added, "I wanted all this stuff, these external things, to be second nature when we were shooting."
Nash told Peters that she "kept him in my prayers" during production, saying, "I prayed for you a lot, for real, because this is weighty. And when you stay in it, and you're tethered to the material, like bone to marrow, your soul is troubled at some point."
Dahmer murdered at least 17 people between the years of 1978 and 1991.
Monster was released on Netflix in September.
