Monsters' Nicholas Alexander Chavez on His 'Paradigm Shift of Epic Proportions' AfterGeneral HospitalBreakout Role (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Nicholas Alexander Chavez attends the red carpet premiere event for FX’s “Grotesquerie” at Spring Studios on September 23, 2014 in New York City.Photo:Ben Hider/PictureGroup for FX/Shutterstock

Ben Hider/PictureGroup for FX/Shutterstock

Nicholas Alexander Chavez’s life has been a whirlwind for the last year.The actor, who first made waves asSpencer Cassadine inGeneral Hospital, stars in two ofRyan Murphy’s newest series,Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez StoryandGrotesquerie, both of which premiere within a week of each other.“It’s a paradigm shift of epic proportions,” he tells PEOPLE.Chavez, 25, jokes that he’s tackled “slightly different roles” as he transitioned from playing the son of a prince on the soap opera toportraying one-half of the infamous Menendez brothers— and then playing a priest who moonlights as a Peloton instructor inGrotesquerie.“It’s been an absolute dream come true, and it fills my heart in a way that I can’t even describe that Ryan saw so much promise in me and decided to give me this shot,” Chavez says atthe New York City premiere ofGrotesquerieon Sept. 23. “I owe him a debt of gratitude, and he’s been an incredible friend to me.“Brad Culver as Gerald Chaleff, Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez in ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’.Miles Crist/NetflixChavez knew thatMonstersandGrotesqueriewould be released back-to-back, and admits he was “trying to mentally prepare as best as I could in my head for this, but I don’t think anything could really prepare you for the reality of this — which is that it’s so much fun, and honestly, just a dream come true.“Hisexit fromGeneral Hospitalcame in between the two projects. In May, he confirmed in astatementon X (formerly known as Twitter) that there are “no current plans” for him to reprise his role as Spencer on the soap opera — which he joined in 2021 — as he expressed his gratitude for the “most loyal and kind fan base in the universe of entertainment.“Nicholas Alexander Chavez in ‘General Hospital’.ABC/Nick ArgoMonstersmarks his first role since the soap, and it was a particularly heavy one as he portrayed Lyle Menendez alongside Cooper Koch’s Erik.“I really sympathize with the brothers, the fact that this was the most traumatic moment of their life, and then having that put on television for the world to see,” he says of the Netflix series and the response to it. “I would imagine that would be incredibly heavy.“Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Father Charlie Mayhew in ‘Grotesquerie’.Prashant Gupta/FXMonstersthen led toGrotesquerie.“Ryan called me, and he does have a very confidence-inspiring way of speaking about his projects,” Chavez recalls. “I mean, immediately when he started to tell me aboutGrotesquerie, it sounded like such an interesting world and it sounded like an opportunity to participate in something really gruesome and unsettling and horrific, which is a palette that I haven’t really gotten…I’ve certainly gotten into [it], but it’s a more imaginative space.“Chavez teases that his character, Father Charlie Mayhew, has an almost “Shakespearean quality” to him, which drew him to the role.“You could almost feel your way through this character like playing a piece of music or doing a Shakespearean soliloquy. I mean, it just fell out through a series of really, really impulsive behaviors and actions.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyis now streaming on Netflix, andGrotesqueriepremieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.

Nicholas Alexander Chavez’s life has been a whirlwind for the last year.

The actor, who first made waves asSpencer Cassadine inGeneral Hospital, stars in two ofRyan Murphy’s newest series,Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez StoryandGrotesquerie, both of which premiere within a week of each other.

“It’s a paradigm shift of epic proportions,” he tells PEOPLE.

Chavez, 25, jokes that he’s tackled “slightly different roles” as he transitioned from playing the son of a prince on the soap opera toportraying one-half of the infamous Menendez brothers— and then playing a priest who moonlights as a Peloton instructor inGrotesquerie.

“It’s been an absolute dream come true, and it fills my heart in a way that I can’t even describe that Ryan saw so much promise in me and decided to give me this shot,” Chavez says atthe New York City premiere ofGrotesquerieon Sept. 23. “I owe him a debt of gratitude, and he’s been an incredible friend to me.”

Brad Culver as Gerald Chaleff, Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez in ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’.Miles Crist/Netflix

Miles Crist/Netflix

Chavez knew thatMonstersandGrotesqueriewould be released back-to-back, and admits he was “trying to mentally prepare as best as I could in my head for this, but I don’t think anything could really prepare you for the reality of this — which is that it’s so much fun, and honestly, just a dream come true.”

Hisexit fromGeneral Hospitalcame in between the two projects. In May, he confirmed in astatementon X (formerly known as Twitter) that there are “no current plans” for him to reprise his role as Spencer on the soap opera — which he joined in 2021 — as he expressed his gratitude for the “most loyal and kind fan base in the universe of entertainment.”

Nicholas Alexander Chavez in ‘General Hospital’.ABC/Nick Argo

ABC/Nick Argo

Monstersmarks his first role since the soap, and it was a particularly heavy one as he portrayed Lyle Menendez alongside Cooper Koch’s Erik.

“I really sympathize with the brothers, the fact that this was the most traumatic moment of their life, and then having that put on television for the world to see,” he says of the Netflix series and the response to it. “I would imagine that would be incredibly heavy.”

Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Father Charlie Mayhew in ‘Grotesquerie’.Prashant Gupta/FX

Prashant Gupta/FX

Monstersthen led toGrotesquerie.“Ryan called me, and he does have a very confidence-inspiring way of speaking about his projects,” Chavez recalls. “I mean, immediately when he started to tell me aboutGrotesquerie, it sounded like such an interesting world and it sounded like an opportunity to participate in something really gruesome and unsettling and horrific, which is a palette that I haven’t really gotten…I’ve certainly gotten into [it], but it’s a more imaginative space.”

Chavez teases that his character, Father Charlie Mayhew, has an almost “Shakespearean quality” to him, which drew him to the role.

“You could almost feel your way through this character like playing a piece of music or doing a Shakespearean soliloquy. I mean, it just fell out through a series of really, really impulsive behaviors and actions.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyis now streaming on Netflix, andGrotesqueriepremieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.

source: people.com