Cooper Koch is having his moment thanks to the true-crime series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix. The actor portrays one of the title characters, Erik Menendez, who is serving a double life sentence for killing his parents with his brother, Lyle. Koch has taken his breakout role very seriously, using a surprisingly unique method to get into character.
“I turned my trailer into Erik’s room so I had clothes everywhere, and I had pictures of him on the wall, pictures of me too,” he told The Wrap this month. “I listened to [Erik] and watched him religiously. And I had my music, I had all different kinds of journals, all different kinds of things to help me really feel like him and be him.”
While Monsters is the 28-year-old’s biggest project to date, he is also known for his roles in the 2022 horror movie They/Them and the Starz series Power Book II: Ghost, as well as the independent films Swallowed and A New York Christmas Wedding. Here’s what else you should know about the rising star.
Cooper Koch started acting as a child
While Koch is just now gaining recognition, he first caught the acting bug at an early age. He started getting involved in community theater when he was 5 years old and further explored his passion in high school, when he was cast in musicals like West Side Story.
Koch’s first onscreen role was in the 2007 legal thriller Fracture, starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. He also starred in a couple of independent short films as a teenager before going on to study acting at Pace University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 2018.
He has a twin brother
Much like his Monsters character, Koch has a close brother. In fact, Koch’s sibling is his twin, Payton Koch, who works as a TV and film editor. In an Instagram post earlier this month, Payton wrote that he has “never felt more proud” of Cooper for his performance in the Netflix show.
Koch works as a model, too
Koch first started modeling in college to help pay his rent. He has done photo shoots for clothing brands like Gap and Patagonia. While acting is now his full-time focus, Koch still models in between gigs. “I make a lot of money modeling so that I have more time to audition to potentially go and do a role or whatever,” Koch told Edge Media Network in June 2023.
He struggled to get cast as an openly gay actor
The actor has been very vocal about his experience as a gay man in the entertainment industry. Koch, who struggled to book roles for years, once had an acting teacher tell him the reason for this was because he had a “gay voice.” Perhaps, that’s one reason Koch wasn’t always so open to being out.
“It’s definitely been a journey to get there,” Koch said. “I remember when I was in college before I had come out and I was still studying in school, I really didn’t wanna come out. I was really afraid to be an actor and be gay just because I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously or I wouldn’t get cast.”
It was in acting school, however, that he learned that he needed to be himself first before he could play anybody else, regardless of the character’s sexual orientation. In 2022, he starred in the LGBTQ horror movie They/Them, alongside Kevin Bacon.
He comes from a show business family
In addition to his twin, Koch has other family members in show business. His father, Billy Koch, was a visual effects editor for the 1996 movies Space Jam and Jerry Maguire, though today Billy is the founder and managing partner of a horse racing club. Meanwhile, Cooper’s grandfather and great-grandfather were movie producers. Hawk, his grandfather, worked on Wayne’s World (1992), Chinatown (1974), and Collateral Damage (2002) with Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to producing The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and The Odd Couple (1968), Cooper’s great-grandfather Howard W. Koch directed several films.
The actor wants to be on Broadway
The young actor feels “so lucky” for his breakout role in Monsters, describing the day he landed the job as the “greatest day” of his life. Now, he’s looking to secure his next project. “I just want to keep working and keep honing my craft and learning. I would love to do a play on Broadway,” Koch said in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum. “I just want a good script and a good character that I can really connect to and sink my teeth into and that challenges me.”
Catherine Caruso joined the Biography.com staff in August 2024, having previously worked as a freelance journalist for several years. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she studied English literature. When she’s not working on a new story, you can find her reading, hitting the gym, or watching too much TV.
