Charlie Hunnam returns to Monster as Lizzie Borden's father
Charlie Hunnam is staying with Netflix's Monster for a second season running, this time as murder victim Andrew Borden.
Hunnam plays Andrew Borden in season four, titled Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, after playing serial killer Ed Gein in season three, titled The Ed Gein Story, Hunnam told The Hollywood Reporter.
Monster is an anthology series, meaning each season tells a separate true-crime story with a new cast and focus, from creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, according to Deadline. The Gein season was a Netflix series that brought Hunnam Emmy nominations for his portrayal, The Hollywood Reporter reported in August.
The return happened fast. Murphy and Brennan pitched Hunnam the role of Andrew Borden while he was still working on the Gein season. Brennan said, "Yes, we didn't want to let Charlie go," when asked if keeping Hunnam came up on that set.
Hunnam said he thought a follow-up phone call from Murphy was about a different show. He said he signed on to work again with Murphy, Brennan and director Max Winkler. The Gein season was difficult, he said, and took everything he had to offer.
Ella Beatty plays Lizzie Borden, with Rebecca Hall as her stepmother Abby Borden. The wider cast for the new season also includes Vicky Krieps and Sarah Paulson, according to Netflix's Tudum cast guide.
The season centres on one of America's most notorious cases. Andrew Borden and Abby Borden were killed in axe murders in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892. Lizzie Borden was put on trial for the killings and acquitted.
Netflix's official synopsis describes Lizzie as trapped in a cruel Victorian-era household who kills her parents in a gory axe murder that shocks the nation, as listed on Netflix. Netflix's Tudum site describes that version of Lizzie as put-upon and abused by her strict parents, and frames the alleged killings as the inevitable result of a stifling Victorian life under the thumb of her father Andrew.
Playing Andrew required a different approach. Hunnam said very little material survives about the real Andrew Borden. That made building the character liberating compared with Gein, where the record was dense and the preparation heavy.
On the central question, Hunnam was direct. He said Murphy and Brennan concluded after research that Lizzie Borden was more than likely responsible for the murders, and that he agrees with them.
What makes this stand out is the casting loop. Anthology leads rarely return immediately as someone new. Here the previous monster is back as the next victim's father.
