Monster: The Ed Gein Story cast – The actors and real people they play from Charlie Hunnam to Lesley Manville
Charlie Hunnam almost lost 30 pounds to transform into the infamous serial killer
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is Netflix’s latest true-crime series looking into the horrific crimes of serial killer Ed Gein, who murdered two women in the 1950s and exhumed several corpses to use their bones and skin for clothing and household items.
Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam stars in the lead role, and lost almost 30 pounds to transform into character.
“I knew very little about Ed,” Hunnam revealed to Tudum. “I knew that there was a man who was regarded as the original serial killer, who had been active in sort of post–Second World War America, rural Midwestern America. And that he had something of an unhealthy relationship with his mother. That was really the extent of what I knew.”
Hunnam is joined by a star-studded line-up, from Lesley Manville to Laurie Metcalf, who plays Ed’s fervently religious mother, Augusta Gein.
As the series airs, here’s everything you need to know about the cast and the real-life people play.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story cast
Below is a list of the actors and characters they play:
- Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein
- Laurie Metcalf as Augusta Gein
- Suzanna Son as Adeline Watkins
- Tom Hollander as Alfred Hitchcock
- Vicky Krieps as Ilse Koch
- Olivia Williams as Alma Reville
- Lesley Manville as Bernice Worden
- Joey Pollari as Anthony Perkins
- Charlie Hall as Deputy Worden
- Tyler Jacob Moore as Sheriff Schley
- Addison Rae as Evelyn Hartley
- Will Brill as Tobe Hooper
- Mimi Kennedy as Mildred Newman
- Robin Weigert as Enid Watkins
For more on the lead cast, as well as how they compare to the real people they play, keep scrolling.
Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein
Getty images / NetflixWho is Ed Gein? Ed Gein was a serial killer and grave robber who was particularly active in the 1950s. He earned himself several nicknames including the ‘Butcher of Plainfield’, ‘Plainfield Ghoul’ and ‘Godfather of serial killers’.
“We tell a very, sort of, varied version, like an all-encompassing version of who he was. So the gruesomeness, but there’s also a little bit of, I don’t want to say tenderness, but you see the human in him,” Hunnam previously revealed.
What else has Charlie Hunnam been in? The British actor, 45, is best known for playing Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy. He’s also appeared in Children of Men, The Lost City of Z, Crimson Peak, and Shantaram.
Laurie Metcalf as Augusta Gein
Who is Augusta Gein? Augusta Gein was Ed’s mother. She was extremely religious and very domineering. When Ed was younger, his family moved to an isolated farm in Plainfield, in Waushara County in central Wisconsin. His mother wanted to keep Ed and his older brother Henry away from temptation believing that many people were full of sin, and it’s been reported that she only let Ed go out to school and would punish him if he tried to make friends.
“In her more hostile, vile moments she would tell him, ‘I should have castrated you at birth,’ ” Hunnam revealed.
What else has Laurie Metcalf been in? Metcalf is known for her roles in Lady Bird, Scream 2, Roseanne and JFK. She also has a successful stage career, starring in A Doll’s House, Part 2 and Three Tall Women.
Suzanna Son as Adeline Watkins
Who is Adeline Watkins? Adeline Watkins is a woman who was romantically involved with Ed. In the series, she’s obsessed with death and introduces him to several of the killers who would serve as his idols.
What else has Suzanna Son been in? Son is an actress and composer known for Red Rocket, Fear Street: Prom Queen and Strobe.
Tom Hollander as Alfred Hitchcock
Who is Alfred Hitchcock? Alfred Hitchcock was a legendary English director known for suspenseful classics like Rear Window, Vertigo, and Notorious. He also made Psycho, the groundbreaking horror film inspired by Ed Gein’s crimes.
What else has Tom Hollander been in? Hollander is known for Pride & Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans About Time, In the Loop, and Gosford Park.
Olivia Williams as Alma Reville
Who is Alma Reville? Williams plays Olivia Alma Reville, the screenwriter and editor who was married to Alfred Hitchcock from 1926 until his death in 1980. She co-wrote several of his films.
What else has Olivia Willians been in? The English actress, 57, has previously appeared in The Sixth Sense, Peter Pan, Anna Karenina, The Father, An Education, Hanna, and Rushmore.
Vicky Krieps as Ilse Koch
Who is Ilse Koch? Vicky Krieps portrays Ilse Koch, the notorious Nazi war criminal known as the ‘Beast of Buchenwald.’ Though Koch died in prison, her disturbing legacy served as a twisted influence on Gein’s obsession with using human remains. In Monster, she appears not in real life, but as a haunting figure in Gein’s imagination.
What else has Vicky Krieps been in? Krieps’ previous roles include appearances in Old, Hanna, Bergman Island, Corsage, A Most Wanted Man, Hold Me Tight.
Lesley Manville as Bernice Worden
Who is Bernice Worden? Manville stars as Bernice Worden, one of the women in Plainfield who owns a local hardware store. Ed becomes obsessed with Bernice.
What else has Lesley Manville been in? Manville has quite the acting CV, appearing in Maleficent, Queer, Another Year, Secrets & Lies, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Mr. Turner, and Vera Drake.
Addison Rae as Evelyn Hartley
Who is Evelyn Hartley? Evelyn is a a babysitter in Plainfield, who Ed becomes obsessed with. She mysteriously disappeared in the 1950s.
What else has Addison Rae been in? Social media personality and singer-songwriter Rae has previously starred in He’s All That and Thanksgiving.
Joey Pollari as Anthony Perkins
Who is Anthony Perkins? Perkins is the young actor who took on the role of Norman Bates in the film Psycho.
What else has Joey Pollari been in? Pollari’s other roles include appearances in American Crime; The Inbetweeners; and Love, Simon
Charlie Hall as Deputy Worden
Who is Deputy Worden? Hall plays Deputy Worden, Bernice’s son and a police officer in Plainfield.
What else has Charlie Hall been in? Hall previously starred in The Sex Lives of College Girls; Single Drunk Female; Sweethearts; and Love, Victor.
Tyler Jacob Moore as Sheriff Schley
Who is Sheriff Schley? Tyler Jacob Moore plays Plainfield’s head law enforcement officer.
What else has Tyler Jacob Moore been in? Moore is known for Perry Mason, Shameless, Barry, and SEAL Team.
Mimi Kennedy as Dr. Mildred Newman
Who is Dr. Mildred Newman? Kennedy plays Dr. Newman, a psychologist and sanatorium official who was famously known for conducting conversion therapy on Anthony Perkins in the 1970s.
What else has Mimi Kennedy been in? Kennedy is known for Dharma & Greg, Mom, In the Loop, Midnight in Paris, Erin Brockovich, and Homefront.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is available to stream on Netflix.
