CREATING A MONSTER

THE ACTOR OPENS UP ABOUT STEPPING INTO TERRIFYING TERRITORY FOR HIS MOST CHILLING ROLE TO DATE

- Jennie Noonan

Attending the Emmy Awards as a presenter on September 14, Charlie Hunnam was asked on the red carpet if he had nightmares while filming his role in Monster: The Ed Gein Story.

In the Netflix drama, he plays a Wisconsin man known as “The Butcher of Plainfield” who, in the 1950s, killed two women and robbed several graves to fashion ghoulish keepsakes out of bones and skin.

“I had the nightmares before I started. Once I got into it, it was a little easier. But I, for a second, thought maybe I'd made a horrible mistake when I started doing my research and realising just how despicable some of the stuff he did was,” he told Variety, adding that he had little time to unwind while filming the third season in the crime anthology series. “I would go home and just prepare for the next day, so it was all Monster all the time until we finished. I had a lot of work to do.”

The 45-year-old did take some brief breaks from the role, visiting the Illinois River Valley Animal Rescue in March to play with kittens.

“After weeks of filming in our little town of Momence, Charlie Hunnam took every chance between takes to shower the cats at Oasis with love,” the nonprofit, no-kill animal rescue and shelter posted on Facebook, reporting that the actor adopted “two special sisters” named Sugar Plum and Gingerbread, adding, “Who would have thought that our two little ladies – once unwanted and homeless In a small town - would end up flying off to a life of luxury in Los Angeles?

The warm and fuzzy moment was a reprieve from the time Hunnam spent researching his dark role, although he did make it a point to tap into Gein's humanity.