Interview: Ross Lynch on His Risky Decision to Become MY FRIEND DAHMER

In theaters this weekend is Marc Meyers’ stunning adaptation of Derf Backderf’s graphic novel My Friend Dahmer, which explores the high school years of eventual serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Playing the titular character is Ross Lynch (who does a fantastic job, by the way), an actor who, up until now, had been keeping busy on a multitude of Disney TV projects, and is now taking a huge leap with this role that just happens to be based on one of the most infamous murderers (and cannibals) in US history.

Daily Dead spoke with Lynch earlier this week about his involvement with My Friend Dahmer, and he discussed taking on the challenging role, collaborating with Meyers, and finding the humanity in someone who would go on to become a real monster.

Fantastic job on this film, Ross. I’d love to hear how this project came to you and what was the initial appeal about playing this character of Jeffrey Dahmer, because it is such a different role to be playing. Not often do people get to discuss playing someone with such a real notoriety to them like in this instance.

Ross Lynch: Well, how this film came to me, it was essentially just the script. I had just gotten out of my Disney contract, and I was on tour with my band and my dad came up to me one day, and he was like, “Hey, do you know who Jeffrey Dahmer is?” I had no idea. He also made a comment that I kind of looked like him, too, so I Googled him. I went through that whole fascination period, where you realize what he did, and then you have all these mixed emotions of fascination and being terrified, and that's very uncomfortable.

So I was in New York on tour, and Marc Meyers, the director of the film, was in town, and I actually hadn't read the script at this point, but he wanted to meet up and chat about the film, and I was definitely down, and we bonded. Me and Marc, we really got on a good level, and we worked really well together in general, especially when we got onto the set. It was a really positive experience working with Marc, but yeah, we talked about the film, and he said, “If you decide to do this film, that is a ballsy move, it is really ballsy.” I remember thinking in my head, “I like making ballsy decisions, so let’s do this. Let’s go.”

At that point, I read the script, which was a great script, as Marc adapted the screenplay off of the book really well. I found myself back in New York, and we did a director/actor session, where we basically sat down for three hours and ran a bunch of scenes. We actually did this one exercise that stuck with me, where Marc wanted me to sit in a chair and quite physically sit there, not say a word, and go through what Dahmer was feeling. He would say certain key things to activate certain emotions out of me, and it was a really cool exercise that I had never done before.

And obviously, taking on Jeffrey Dahmer was a decision that was calculated on my part. I would have taken it had I not been on the Disney Channel, absolutely I would have, but being from the Disney Channel, to do something so different made for a good headline, and I was aware of that. Plus, it’s a really fascinating story, and I don't know if I've ever seen another movie that's quite like this one.

What I think is really interesting, too, about this film, is that you guys try to find humanity basically in this kid who grew up to be a monster. It’s like you know what's coming after this movie is done, and yet there is so much of you that sympathizes with this kid, because he really was alone, and there was a lot of sadness in his experiences growing up. Was it tough to find that humanity?

Ross Lynch: As an actor, you can't really judge your subject. You have to find a way to empathize with them, however monstrous that person maybe was. And because I was playing him as a high school kid, which was before he ever did anything despicable, it wasn't truly difficult to give him this humanity, because he was a human. But also the script and the book really brought that out of me, because when I first read it, I felt that way, too. I felt super conflicted by the end of it. You feel bad for him, and you want to reach in and want to give him a hug, but you also know what he is going to do, and that disgusts you, so it's this weird mix of emotions by the end of the film.

You mentioned working with Marc and workshopping everything. How much did you enjoy that collaborative process with him on My Friend Dahmer?

Ross Lynch: It was a really pleasant experience. Here's how it was: he gave me guidelines, but he wasn't pushing, you know what I mean? He put me on a leash, but rarely ever tugged on it. So he definitely gave me a lot of room and a lot of ways to explore this character, and it was great because you never felt like there was a wrong decision to be made. That is so healthy in a creative environment.

We did a lot of variations, but there were scenarios where we only had one take, because this is an indie film, so we didn't have the luxury of reshoots and all those things like that. We only had twenty production days, so there are scenarios where they are on a steady cam rig, which is challenging to get a take at that, and we were pressured in certain timing scenarios where it was like, “Okay, we've got one shot. Nobody fu** up, basically [laughs].” But it was in those moments where this film was really made, because everyone came together, and everyone executed in those dire situations.

---------

In case you missed it, read our own Heather Wixson's review of the film and interview with Meyers.