After he portrayed Erik Menendez on Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Cooper Koch shared a message he received from Lyle Menendez during the Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 14.
“He said to me, ‘For so many, what you brilliantly portrayed is their reality,’” Koch, 29, read from his message from Lyle, 57, while speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the red carpet for the awards show. “‘The goal is not accolades. The goal is to bring awareness. We are stronger together. Love you, brother.’”
Once Koch was done reading the note, he asked, “Isn’t that so sweet?” He then added that he and Lyle talk “every once in a while” since they first met last year.
Both Lyle and his brother, Erik, 54, are currently serving life sentences for the murders of their parents, Jose Menendez and Kitty Menendez, in 1989, according to NBC News.
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The brothers committed the murders after years of experiencing alleged sexual abuse by their father. Both Erik and Lyle were recently up for parole, though their requests were denied.
During the interview, Koch said that the decision was “very sad.” He continued, “But it’s very common for it to not go your way the first time, and they will have another chance sooner rather than later. So I’m just continuing to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best and send them lots of love. Especially also their family and all of their supporters too.”
Koch also reflected on playing the brothers alongside Nicholas Alexander Chavez on Ryan Murphy’s show, which became an instant hit on the streaming service and earned him a nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series category at the Emmys.
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“I was so happy that that happened,” he said of the show’s success. “That was sort of my goal all along. I always wanted it to be more than just a show, and I wanted people to, like what Lyle said, to bring awareness to this thing that happens in families and not only in families but just to people.”
Koch previously revealed that he was in touch with Lyle when the Emmy nominations were announced in July. “I spoke [with] Lyle today,” he said while appearing on Entertainment Weekly’s “The Awardist” podcast. “He called to send his congrats and was very, very sweet.”
“He was jealous that I was at Wimbledon this weekend,” he continued. “He was just so, so sweet … and they’re doing really well.”
