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Meet Cooper Koch, the breakout star of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Get to know the out gay actor Cooper Koch, who plays Erik in the new Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Cooper Koch's career is reaching new heights while bringing to life the very complicated character of Erik Menéndez in the Ryan Murphy-run Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second installment of the Monster anthology series that was kicked off with The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
A 28-year-old Los Angeles native, Koch was born in July 1996 and is related to the legendary Hawk Koch — who served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (a.k.a. the organization behind the Oscars) between 2012 and 2013. Over the years, Hawk Koch was known for pushing Hollywood to be more inclusive, which is a really cute thing now that his grandson is also in the business and can leave his life as his most authentic self.
Koch has been an out gay actor since the beginning of his career. In fact, his best-known credits — playing Stu in They/Them and Benjamin in Swallowed — were both projects centered on queer people and stories.
The actor is generally more private about his personal life than the average person in showbiz, but his sexuality was never hidden, and his willingness to work in queer projects was always there, which is definitely praiseworthy.
Beyond all the darkness that surrounds Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez series, Koch also happens to have a strong connection with his brother… who is his twin! Payton Koch, Cooper's twin sibling, is an Emmy-nominated editor in Hollywood. This is a family of talented creatives, okay?!
Koch unfortunately doesn't have an active Instagram account that would allow us to keep up with him on a more regular basis, but it's thrilling to watch his career flourish between indie projects like Swallowed, star-studded films like They/Them, and now getting even more attention from this second installment of Netflix's Monsters franchise.
We're always rooting for the girls, gays, and theys, and Koch is absolutely a name that we'll be hearing about for many years to come.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is now streaming on Netflix.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
