Enrique Murciano is preparing for a monster of a role…
The 50-year-old Cuban American actor has joined the cast of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true-crime anthology series for Netflix.
It was in 1989 that Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered parents Jose and Kitty in their L.A.-area home. Although not initially looked at as prime suspects, they came under investigation in the months following and eventually confessed to parricide, at the same time claiming that their actions stemmed from years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
The first of two trials, broadcast on Court TV, had the nation in its grip, much like the 1994 trial of O.J. Simpson, and is believed to have played a part in the modern-day fascination with true crime. The prosecution argued that the pair were in fact seeking to inherit their father’s multimillion-dollar estate, and the Menendez brothers were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Murciano, best known for his work on Without a Trace, is part of a roster of new cast additions that includes Dallas Roberts, Jason Butler Harner and 10 others.
Murciano is Carlos Baralt, an Americanized Cuban immigrant, professor and lawyer, uncle to the Menendez Brothers and brother-in-law to Jose Menendez, and the executor of the Menendez will.
Other cast members include Michael Gladis, who plays Tim Rutten; Drew Powell as Det. Tom Linehan; Charlie Hall is Craig Cignarelli; Gil Ozeri plays Dr. William Vicary; Jeff Perry portrays Peter Hoffman; Tessa Auberjonois is Dr. Laurel Oziel; Tanner Stine plays Perry Berman; Larry Clarke portrays Brian Andersen; Jade Pettyjohn is Jamie Pisarcik and Marlene Forte portrays Marta Cano.
They join previously announced cast Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez, Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne, Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson, and Leslie Grossman as Judalon Smyth.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will debut in 2024.
Murphy and Brennan executive produce with Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, David McMillan, Louise Shore and Carl Franklin.
The first installment of the anthology, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starred Evan Peters as the notorious serial killer. It debuted in September 2022 and became one of Netflix’s most popular English-language series ever, leading to Netflix’s green light of two follow-up installments, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story being the first.
