Itapps not an exaggeration to say Nicholas Alexander Chavez had a very good year.
Now a member of Ryan Murphyapps unofficial acting troupe, he starred in two of the creatorapps new series. First came the Golden Globe-nominated appMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,app for Netflix. Chavez played Lyle, the elder of two brothers serving a lifetime prison sentence for killing their parents, Jose and Kitty, in 1989.
Chavez recognizes some parts of the series are appreally, really difficult to digestapp but points out that appMonstersapp shows multiple sides to the story. The brothers have said they killed their parents out of self-defense, following sexual abuse by their father.
appTo my knowledge, itapps the first TV show about the Menendez brothers thatapps told in that format,app said Chavez, who prepared by watching old court footage. (The drama app and a new documentary app reignited public interest in the case, and a judge is weighing Los Angeles County prosecutorsapp request to resentence the brothers.)
It was toward the end of filming appMonstersapp that Murphy invited Chavez to join Niecy Nash in appAmerican Horror Story: Grotesquerie,app a double act that earned him a spot as one of The Associated Pressapp Breakthrough Entertainers of 2024.
appI was just so excited that he thought of me,app said Chavez of the opportunity. appI had studied Season 1 of appMonsters.appapp The opportunity to act with Nash, says Chavez, appwas really kind of a wonderful way for me to close the loop.app To get into character as Father Charlie, Chavez would listen to music: appDonappt Do Anything Illegalapp by Charles Manson app yes, that one app was on his playlist.
Even before the Murphyverse, the 25-year-old had a loyal following from his work on ABCapps appGeneral Hospital,app TVapps longest-running soap. Chavez was selling cars during the pandemic when he auditioned for and got a part on the daytime show. He played Spencer Cassadine, a grandson of legacy character Laura of the Luke and Laura days. A year later, he won the 2022 Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding younger performer in a drama series.
Of the training that actors get from soap operas, Chavez said the series helped him: appItapps no joke when they talk about the memorization. I think that my heaviest day on set was something like 85 pages.app
A career in acting wasnappt on Chavezapps radar until he played Atticus Finch in his high school production of appTo Kill a Mockingbird.app
appI just really, really enjoyed myself,app recalled Chavez. appI felt really free and present and immersed in the moment. It felt like I was doing the thing that I was put on earth to do.app
He remembers being told afterward by teachers that he should pursue acting as a career. Their encouragement stuck with him: appNot many kids in Denver got told this. Itapps not really a part of the infrastructure the way that it is in LA or maybe in New York.app
Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menendez in appMonsters,app credits Chavezapps layered performance in the series. He recalls a scene when his character confesses to the crimes in a therapy session. Lyle bursts through the door to stop him.
appHeapps sort of pleading with the doctor like, appWeappre going to be OK, right? You canappt tell anyone,appapp Koch said. appAfter we cut, me and Nick and our director of photography, Jason McCormick, sort of huddled up outside and we just started crying. It was so beautiful. And I really, really saw his (Lyleapps) humanity and the lion mask kind of come off and he became this wounded child. It was so, so beautiful to witness.app
Next, Chavez has a role in the appI Know What You Did Last Summerapp reboot. He also says he would like to get cast in a comedy. More than anything, he just wants to be on set working.
appMy life feels whole and complete between the words appactionapp and appcut.app I live for those moments,app he said. appI think that is the purpose of my entire existence. I canappt wait to see what the future holds.app
