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Lead Actor Of The Third Season Of 'Monster' On Netflix Found Rare Recordings Of Serial Killer That No One Knew About
Charlie Hunnam discovered lost Ed Gein recordings, deepening his role in Monster: The Ed Gein Story and adding layers to his performance.
For his role in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, actor Charlie Hunnam went to great lengths. While even the show's research team found nothing, he managed to track down rare recordings of serial killer Ed Gein. Gein's crimes famously inspired film classics like Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs. Hunnam used the recordings to fully immerse himself in the mind of the notorious criminal.
During the third season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, Hunnam takes on the role of the eerie grave robber. In an interview with Screen Rant, he revealed how after countless phone calls and emails, he found the audio files he had heard about in a documentary. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” said Hunnam, who discovered the tapes through the Amazon documentary Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein.
The actor discovered that the tapes had never been released at the time. They were recorded shortly after Gein's arrest, but according to Hunnam, they were deemed unusable because Gein was not read his Miranda rights and he was allegedly mistreated by a local officer. That officer turned out to be the son of one of his victims, Bernice Worden. The recordings subsequently disappeared into an archive for decades.
After weeks of searching, Hunnam eventually gained access through producer Joshua Kunau, who sent him an MP3 version. “He was incredibly generous,” said the actor, who was only allowed to listen to the material after signing a confidentiality agreement.
The recordings helped Hunnam dive even deeper into his role. He confessed that he barely had time to relax during the intense filming schedule. “I consciously avoided decompressing. Not as a method, but simply because it’s impossible to step back when you have to stay constantly focused. After days of fourteen or fifteen hours and then more hours of preparation, I remained immersed in it.”
Still, he looks back with satisfaction on the arduous production. “I love a challenge.” Watch the sensational series now on Netflix!
During the third season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, Hunnam takes on the role of the eerie grave robber. In an interview with Screen Rant, he revealed how after countless phone calls and emails, he found the audio files he had heard about in a documentary. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” said Hunnam, who discovered the tapes through the Amazon documentary Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein.
Forgotten Recordings From A Dusty Drawer
The actor discovered that the tapes had never been released at the time. They were recorded shortly after Gein's arrest, but according to Hunnam, they were deemed unusable because Gein was not read his Miranda rights and he was allegedly mistreated by a local officer. That officer turned out to be the son of one of his victims, Bernice Worden. The recordings subsequently disappeared into an archive for decades.
After weeks of searching, Hunnam eventually gained access through producer Joshua Kunau, who sent him an MP3 version. “He was incredibly generous,” said the actor, who was only allowed to listen to the material after signing a confidentiality agreement.
Always Working
The recordings helped Hunnam dive even deeper into his role. He confessed that he barely had time to relax during the intense filming schedule. “I consciously avoided decompressing. Not as a method, but simply because it’s impossible to step back when you have to stay constantly focused. After days of fourteen or fifteen hours and then more hours of preparation, I remained immersed in it.”
Still, he looks back with satisfaction on the arduous production. “I love a challenge.” Watch the sensational series now on Netflix!