Extreme lengths actor Charlie Hunnam took to get inside Ed Gein's mind for new Netflix series 'Monster'
Netflix’s latest true crime series looks at brutal murderer Ed Gein and actor Charlie Hunnam has explained how he brought him to life.
True crime and Netflix go hand in hand, so people were both disturbed and curious when it was announced the third series of Monster would be focusing on the notorious serial killer.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story follows Ed Gein, also known as the Butcher of Plainfield and the Plainfield Ghoul.
He murdered two women in the 1950s, robbed graves and dismembered bodies to create a ‘house of horrors’.
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His dreadful crimes were discovered when a woman named Bernice Worden went missing in 1957, which led to police investigating Gein's home.
Authorities found Worden decapitated and hanging from the ceiling and discovered that Gein had actually been turning body parts into clothes made from human skin.
The serial killer also had organs in jars and skulls used as bowls.
When he was arrested, Gein also admitted to taking the life of Mary Hogan as well as digging up bodies to cut off the body parts he wanted.
Hunnam, who plays Gein in Monsters, has spoken about the incredible lengths to make his portrayal as close to the actual man as possible, from appearance to mannerisms and voice.
During an interview with Tudum, he said: “I wanted to get as close as possible to who Ed was, to do him justice, and for this thing to feel authentic.
“This is going to be the really human, tender, unflinching, no-holds-barred exploration of who Ed was and what he did. But who he was being at the centre of it, rather than what he did.”
Speaking about how he physically got ready for the role, Hunnam added: “I lost almost 30 pounds just to get a more malnourished, light frame. Ed was incredibly lithe. And so that was a big part of the physicality.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about where his energy was, that he's not particularly confident or, like, front-foot type of energy. How to not take up a lot of space, not to be sort of front and centre and too confident in my physicality was really important."
Hunnam said it was also crucial to ensure that he could nail the voice of Gein and he was fortunate in how he was able to do that for the TV show.
He managed to get a hold of rare audio tapes from when Gein was arrested for his crimes and was able to shift what he already thought was an accurate tone into an even better voice.
Even more creepily than this, however, Hunnam thought it would be a fitting conclusion to visit Gein’s grave, who died in 1984.
At his grave, he told the serial killer he ‘hoped we had told his story honestly at the very least, and [I] didn't invite him to come on the journey with me moving forward’.
Hunnam added: “I was ready to say goodbye to him and that be the end.”
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is available to stream on Netflix now.
Topics: Film and TV, Netflix, Celebrity, True crime
Gerrard Kaonga