It turns out Nicholas Alexander Chavez was pulling double-duty while filming one of the year’s biggest shows, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
As Chavez was playing the titular older brother in the Netflix true-crime anthology, the 25-year-old actor was simultaneously filming his latest project, Grotesquerie. The FX horror drama, starring Niecy Nash and featuring NFL player Travis Kelce, is also helmed by Monsters co-creator Ryan Murphy.
“The night that we wrapped Menendez, I remember I got in a car, and then they took me to the hotel near where we were filming Grotesquerie, and I jumped right in the next day,” Chavez explained to Variety. “I think I filmed for five days straight after that, so it was truly one project into the next. It’s been very cool to experience Ryan’s creative vision in two different worlds because they’re very different.”
Monsters and Chavez’s performance as convicted killer Lyle Menendez have racked up more than 31 million views and counting. Even more viewers are getting to know Chavez as Father Charlie Mayhew on Grotesquerie, which debuted September 25.
Here’s a look at how the young TV actor became one of the fall’s breakout stars.
Chavez was drawn to performing in childhood
Although born in Houston, Chavez primarily grew up in Denver.
In an interview with Soap Central, Chavez explained that before he truly understood what acting was as a child, he was captivated by the blessing of the Eucharist he witnessed while attending Catholic mass with his family. He recreated the practice at home, using a loaf of bread and fruit punch.
As he grew older, Chavez participated in local choirs and began to take acting seriously in high school. He told Netflix’s Tudum he was on the speech and debate team and went to competitions across the country before transitioning to theater his junior year. He played Atticus Finch in a production of To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the Harper Lee novel.
“It happened in a funny way because the kid who was supposed to play Atticus got sick a few weeks before [opening], and the director asked if I could [take] his place,” Chavez said. “A lot of people in the faculty came to watch the show, and they gave me really, really positive feedback and suggested I think about doing this as my career.”
He was a car and insurance salesman
Chavez attended the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He dropped out after his sophomore year and moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles to begin his career. Initially, he worked for the Postmates food delivery service and other odd jobs to make money.
But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and forced Chavez to move to Florida, where his father was located. The sidelined actor worked as a car and life insurance salesman. “There’s probably not a product under the sun that I haven’t tried to sell—it really does a good job of preparing you to hear all the nos that sometimes come along with acting, especially in those early days as you’re trying to make a name for yourself,” Chavez said.
The actor admitted to frustration over his lack of acting opportunities but knew he had “meaningful stories in my soul” that he wanted to tell. It wouldn’t be long before Chavez caught his big break
He’s already an Emmy winner
Things were looking up for Chavez as the calendar turned to 2021. He submitted a taped-at-home audition for the long-running soap opera General Hospital. According to Soap Opera Digest, his reel was so impressive it earned him an in-person tryout in California with General Hospital star Maura West. Chavez won over the production team and made his debut on the program as Spencer Cassadine on July 1 of that year.
Chavez impressed viewers and critics as well; he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series in 2022. During his acceptance speech, the actor became emotional as he recalled his struggles during the pandemic. “I always had the love and support of my family, but none of us had ever dreamed that I would be up on this stage talking to you here today,” he said.
Chavez stayed in the role through January 2024 and has hinted he’s open to returning to the show in some capacity despite his character’s death. “Port Charles is a crazy place,” he told TV Line. “We’ll have to see what happens.”
He has multitasked as an actor before
Although Chavez only has four acting credits listed on IMDb, he has worked on concurrent projects once before. While he was on General Hospital, Chavez appeared in the 2022 Tubi comedy movie Crushed. This is his only movie role to date.
“I would film the movie from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., and then I would try to grab an hour of sleep before I’d be on set at GH at 7 a.m., and then work until roughly noon,” he told Soap Central.
Despite the demanding schedule, Chavez said he “had an absolute blast and had the time of my life” filming the raunchy teen romance. However, his next role was nothing to laugh about.
Chavez immediately clicked with Monsters co-star Cooper Koch
Chavez joined the cast of Monsters in 2023. He explained to Variety that his final callback audition with co-star Cooper Koch, who portrayed younger sibling Erik Menendez in the show, helped seal the role.
“Usually when you go to a callback, there’s four or five other people there to play the part. But it was just Cooper and myself,” he said. “We went up there, we did the scenes. I think it felt electric right off the bat with Cooper. Ryan [Murphy] called us two days later to let us know that he wasn’t going to make the show if he couldn’t make it with us.”
Once it was official, Chavez fully committed to the part by reading, watching, and listening to all he could about the infamous brothers, who were convicted of brutally murdering their parents, José and Kitty, in August 1989.
Unlike Koch who visited Erik in prison days after Monsters began streaming, Chavez hasn’t interacted with his real-life counterpart directly. “I’ve recognized that as an artist, it’s important to have the grace to be able to release characters after they’re done,” he said. “That’s a big part of the job, and I’m kind of holding true to that.”
Chavez isn’t limiting himself to acting
In September 2024, Chavez signed with CAA, a major talent agency. While he’s clearly an actor on the rise with the success of Monsters and debut of Grostesquerie, he’s not limiting himself to TV—or even staying on camera.
A recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art prompted him to reflected on his future. “When I was there, this is what I wrote down: ‘In my career, I’m determined to make a significant contribution to art and to the world,’ and I’m really curious to find out what that means for me,” Chavez told Tudum. “I’m going to find my own path, and I’m going to make meaningful use of the time that I have on Earth.”
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
![a teenage boy holds golden trophy above his head with one hand](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/owen-cooper-accepts-the-outstanding-supporting-actor-in-a-news-photo-1757950768.pjpeg?crop=0.651xw:0.875xh;0.0561xw,0.0517xh&resize=360:* "Owen Cooper accepts the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie award for "Adolescence" during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025")
