Cooper Koch has landed his first-ever Emmy nomination for his lead role as Erik Menendez in Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, but the news is a tad bittersweet for the actor who was hoping to hear the names of his co-stars Ari Graynor and Nicholas Alexander Chavez called along with his as the nominees for the 2025 Emmys were announced Tuesday morning.
“I talked to Ari; I’m devastated that she didn’t get it,” Koch tells The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s the one sort of bummer from today that she didn’t get it. Same thing with Nicholas. I think both of them really deserved to be on there, so I’m super bummed that they didn’t get nominated.”
Chavez portrayed Lyle Menendez in the Netflix series and Graynor played Erik’s lead defense attorney, Leslie Abramson. Despite the snubs for the two stars, Monsters did receive additional nods in the acting categories by way of Chloë Sevigny, who was nominated for best supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for her role as matriarch Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, and Javier Bardem for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Jose Menendez.
“Chloë and I FaceTimed, and she congratulated me, and I congratulated her,” says Koch, who continued to sing the praises of his co-stars. “I could not have done it without any of them. They were the most wonderful scene partners, and they’re such gifted actors. I owe all of my work and the scenes and everything that came out to them.”
As he gears up for Emmy campaigning, Koch, 28, says he’s hoping for less attention on him and more on the Menendez brothers, who, as a result of renewed public interest in their case stemming from the series, were resentenced to 50 years to life in prison in May, making them now eligible for parole.
“We’re still sort of living with what’s happening in real time with their case. They go to the parole board on Aug. 21st and Aug. 22nd, so I’m just hoping that I can talk more about and advocate for them,” says Koch. “I’m like, screw myself. I just want to get them out of prison.”
That said, Koch is looking forward to seeing some of the talented actors he’s admired from behind the screen in real life on the trail, calling out White Lotus star and fellow first-time Emmy nominee Aimee Lou Wood in particular.
“I love her, and I loved her in White Lotus. I can’t wait to give her a giant hug. I feel like I already know her,” he says, also noting Only Murders in the Building and Severance as his other top shows.
“I’m a big Severance fan, and I’ve just been so impressed with Adam Scott and Britt Lower for both seasons of the show,” he says. “I’m such huge fans of theirs, and I had such a great chat with Adam at The Hollywood Reporter Roundtable. He’s such a wonderful guy and such an amazing talent, so I’m really, really rooting for him.”
Nominations for the 77th Emmy Awards were presented by Harvey Guillén and Brenda Song at a ceremony held on Tuesday, July 15. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story received a total of 11 noms, including best limited or anthology series, along with three in the technical categories of picture editing, sound mixing and musical composition, and an additional four nods for best period or fantasy/sci-fi hairstyling and makeup (non-prosthetic), period costumes and casting for a limited or anthology series.
The 77th Emmy Awards will be hosted by Nate Bargatze and broadcast live Sunday, Sept. 14, (8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. See the full list of nominees here.
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