Evan Peters Reveals That THIS Will Ferrell Comedy Helped Him Move On From Difficult ‘Dahmer’ Scenes

Hollywood star Evan Peters is well known for his excellence at portraying difficult roles, and his most recent role as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is easily one of the darkest of his acting roles. Peters recently revealed that transforming into the role of "Dahmer" brought negativity and darkness into his life because he gave the performance his all.

However, Peters revealed in a panel discussion, that he was able to move on from the difficult scenes and the darkness of the role with lighthearted comedies like Will Ferrell’s “Step Brothers.” He and Niecy Nash, a “Dahmer” co-star, also teased about collaborating on a future rom-com. The actor previously spoke about doing more romance and comedies, but that was before his role as Jeffrey Dahmer.

Peters also talked about his extensive preparation for the serial-killer role. The actor said he wore weights and worked with a coach to learn Dahmer’s mannerisms and speech patterns. 

Read on to find out more.

At a recent panel discussion led by showrunner Ryan Murphy, Peters reflected on his time playing the role of the infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Peters revealed that he turned to the lightheaded comedy “Step Brothers” to help him step back from the darkness of the role.

“Step Brothers” was a 2008 comedy starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Peters said the movie helped him be “able to breathe” and move on from the dark docu-series. He spoke about his transformation into Dahmer, saying, “Doing the role, I wanted to give it 120 percent the whole way through, so I brought in a lot of darkness and negativity.”

Peters continued per Insider, “It was just having that end goal in sight, knowing when we were going to wrap and finally being able to breathe and let it go and say, OK, now it’s time to bring in the joy and the lightness and watch comedies and romances and go back to St. Louis and see my family and friends and yeah, watch ‘Step Brothers.’”

Niecy Nash, one of Peters’ co-stars from “Dahmer,” was also at the interview, and the duo teased fans about working together on future projects. Nash said, “Evan Peters, you and me in a rom-com right after this,” and Peters replied, “Oh, I’m down.”

Peters had previously shared with Murphy that he wants to do more lighthearted roles, such as a romantic comedy. The actor and Murphy had worked together on “American Horror Story” before he was offered the role of Dahmer.

Murphy revealed that after Peters read the script for the Netflix docu-series, he called him the next day and took the role. Peters reportedly told Murphy, “It’s so challenging. It’s so difficult that I kind of have to say yes to it, even though I’m terrified of it.”

Peters spoke about his extensive preparation for his role as Dahmer. He shared that he wore lead weights on his arms for several months to help him mimic the serial killer’s odd physicality.

Peters said per Insider, “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. I wore the character shoes with lifts in them, his jeans, his glasses, I had a cigarette in my hand at all times.”

The “Kick-Ass” actor also said that he worked with a dialect coach for months, which helped him master Dahmer’s weird mannerisms and speech patterns. Peters said they eventually became “second nature” to him.

During another panel appearance on Thursday, Murphy spoke about the controversies surrounding the Dahmer docu-series. The show had received complaints and criticism, especially from several family members of Dahmer’s victims, like Errol Lindsey’s sister, Rita Isbell.

Isbell wrote an emotional essay for Insider about the emotional impact of seeing Netflix recreate her victim impact statement at Dahmer’s original court trial. She also said the platform never reached out for permission to use her brother’s story and her witness statement.

Several other family members have also accused Murphy and Netflix of exploiting their trauma from Dahmer’s crimes and reinforcing it with the show. They also claimed they were never contacted before the series aired, which Murphy has denied severally.