Nicholas Alexander Chavez Reveals a Secret About Playing Lyle Menendez

Former General Hospital star Nicholas Alexander Chavez made his Netflix debut in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story last week and became a superstar sensation overnight.

Nicholas Alexander Chavez’ Breakout Role

Chavez went through the audition process like any young actor and wasn’t handed this plum role without putting in the work. However, he was shocked when his final audition was nothing more than a meeting with producer Ryan Murphy and Cooper Koch, another relative unknown cast as Lyle’s brother, Erik Menendez.

Chavez admitted to Town and Country that he hadn’t even known who the Menendez Brothers were when he first auditioned.

“Prior to me getting the audition for the role, I didn’t know anything,” Chavez admitted. “When I got the audition, as an actor, you have to cram as much research as you possibly can into whatever that audition time period is. You’re trying to learn as much as you can in a very short amount of time to give you an abridged understanding of who this person is, or might be. I was so fascinated in that initial research process—and then it was like, God, I just hope I get cast in this so that I can continue the research process.”

To some fans, that could come as surprising news considering how high profile the Menendez Brothers case was. In 1989, they brothers killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They were convicted in 1996 and have remained behind bars ever since. However, Chavez wasn’t even born when the brothers were first imprisoned.

What About Spencer?

With Chavez’ star on the rise in Monsters and FX’s Grotesquerie, it looks like he won’t be returning as Spencer. The GH character fell into the River Seine in January and was presumed dead. WhetherGH recasts is anyone’s guess, but in May, Chavez announced he would not be returning to the soap.

Don’t forget to watch new episodes of General Hospital each weekday on ABC and weeknight on Hulu.