Charlie Hunnam Says ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Role Was Liberating After Playing Ed Gein

[This story contains mild spoilers from early episodes of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.]

Charlie Hunnam is no stranger to playing a monster. In fact, he was working on Monster season three, starring as infamous serial killer Ed Gein, when Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan pitched him the role of Andrew Borden in season four of their hit Netflix true-crime anthology, The Lizzie Borden Story.

Stepping into the role of Ed Gein was an exhaustive but rewarding process for the Sons of Anarchy actor (who is also bringing back that show, with a meta twist). Still he didn’t hesitate to join the cast of the next season. But in terms of actual research, despite the Borden case being so infamous, he says there was very little out there on Andrew, which was liberating and unlike Gein. “We got to create the version of Andrew that was most impactful for Lizzie’s story, and to try to speculate what it was about him and that household that drove Lizzie to do what she did,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “After doing all of their research, Ian and Ryan felt more than likely that Lizzie was responsible. Which I do, too. But, a lot of my understanding comes through the conversations I had with them, so that’s unsurprising.”

Below, Hunnam talks more about working with Ella Beatty as Lizzie, the episode that challenged him most and his Andrew Borden — Lizzie’s father who, along with her stepmother Abby Borden (played by Rebecca Hall), were gruesomely killed; Lizzie was put on trial, but acquitted, for their axe murders that took place in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892.

This is another meaty role for you. I asked Ian Brennan if the idea came up for you to play another monster while on the set of Monster season three, The Ed Gein Story. He said, “Yes, we didn’t want to let Charlie go.” You took a dark, deep dive into playing serial killer Ed Gein. Did you have to think about this for a minute?

Not really. I find that it’s always unexpected, the way that Ryan will approach these things. We had actually been having a conversation about another show that he was doing, and he’d asked me to read this book and we were talking about that other show. I thought we were getting on the phone to discuss that, and he went, “We can discuss that, but I’ve had another idea that I think is better.” So then he pitched me this season of Monster.

The [Ed Gein] season that I had done prior to this was so difficult, and took everything that I had to offer. I just had an amazing time with the creative team. I think Ian [Brennan] is the best writer out there, and I knew [director] Max Winkler, who’s my dear friend, and, at this point, sort of my creative partner. So with the team, writ large, it just seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up getting the opportunity to work with them again.

Are you allowed to share what that other show was that you were talking to Ryan about?

Probably not! They made it, and another actor played that role.

With Ed Gein, so much research was available to you, from psych evaluations and court documents to recorded interviews. What research was available to you in your prep on Andrew Borden and the Borden family?

Honestly, almost nothing. There’s so little known about Andrew Borden. He really was sort of a reclusive, anti-social character. So even the people who were wildly speculating at the time — because, obviously, this was a huge story in Massachusetts, and nationally, when it happened — nobody really knew too much about him.

I think he was just a guy who had fallen into his own prison of grief and resentment after his wife died that he never got out of, and was never able to escape. But in terms of actual research, there was very little to do, which was sort of liberating and fun in its own way, because then we got to create the version of Andrew that was most impactful for Lizzie’s story, and try to speculate what it was about him and that household that drove Lizzie to do what she did — if indeed she did what it’s speculated that she may have done. Although, she was acquitted, so it was never proven that she actually committed this crime.

The show opens with the murders and takes a pretty clear stance that she did do it. Was that the first thing you filmed?

That has some overlap, as you would imagine, for later episodes of the show. So by the time we were doing that, it was, in terms of my arc of filming the show, a little bit later.

But Ian has talked about it. As the creator and writer of the show, he has to make a decision of what he thinks the reality is that he’s going to lean into. There are a couple of episodes later on where we explore some of the other narratives, or potential perpetrators of this crime. But it does seem as though, after doing all of the research, that Ian and Ryan felt more than likely that Lizzie was responsible.

Which I do, too. But, a lot of my understanding comes through the conversations that I had with them, so that’s unsurprising.

Which was a more challenging scene to film in the early episodes, the murders or the near-death attempt and vomiting?

(Laughs.) Well, there’s one later episode that really does a deep dive into Andrew’s perspective and his experience of life that goes between a couple of different time periods of his life. That was the most difficult stuff to do, because it was the most emotional, and honest and raw that Andrew is. There’s some scenes in there, I haven’t seen them yet, but that felt really satisfying to shoot, and certainly were the most challenging.

The scene where you are screaming at Lizzie after the doves are murdered by Abby is the first time we saw Andrew explode. He throws the axe right behind her. What was it like filming with Ella and working with her as a scene partner?

She’s amazing. She really has it going on. Not only is she just so talented and disciplined, and hardworking and committed, but she’s got such poise. She’s pretty young still, and she has a sure-footedness about her that is really noticeable. You’re like, “I wish I had had that level of poise and self-awareness when I was her age.” She’s pretty amazing, and incredibly smart with a good sense of humor. She’s just very elegant in the way she conducts herself.

But it was clear from day one. I’d heard from Max and Ian and Ryan that they were just so thrilled to have her playing Lizzie. I heard nothing but glowing endorsements and reviews of her as a person, and as an artist, and then I stepped on set the first day, I said, “Okay, this girl’s pretty damn fantastic.”

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is now streaming all episodes on Netflix.