Who plays Jeffrey Dahmer in the chilling Netflix series and what happened to survivor, Tracy Edwards?

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has left true-crime fans desperate to know more about the chilling Netflix show, including who plays the notorious Milwaukee cannibal and what happened to his only survivor, Tracy Edwards. 

The limited-run series dropped on the US streaming platform on September 21 – and we've already made our way through its 10 episodes. 

Directed by Ryan Murphy, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, tells the disturbing true story of the ex-chocolate factory worker's 17 homicides, most of which were committed against Black, Asian, or Latino men and boys between 1978 and 1991. It also provides a chilling picture of who Jeffrey Dahmer was from the perspective of his victims, with many critics praising the show for refusing to glorify or romanticize its twisted protagonist. 

Who plays Jeffrey Dahmer in the Netflix series? 

Jeffrey Dahmer is played by Evan Peters in the new Netflix series. With former roles in hard-hitting shows like American Horror Story and Mare of Eastown, his casting as the deranged killer shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to viewers. He's also had plenty of experience handling weapons on camera, having already starred in numerous action films like Never Back Down, X-Men, and Kick-Ass. 

But even with these impressive credits behind him, Evan has admitted to feeling anxious about his latest role as Dahmer. 

In a recent interview for Ryan Murphy productions, the 35-year-old spoke candidly about the challenges of playing such a mentally disturbed individual. 

“Honestly, I was very scared about all of the things that he did, and diving into that and trying to commit to that was absolutely going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life because I wanted it to be very authentic. But in order to do that, I was gonna have to go to really dark places and stay there for an extended period of time.”

What happened to Tracy Edwards, Dahmer's only survivor? 

Tracy Edwards has largely been hailed as the man who ended Jeffrey Dahmer's killing spree after he escaped a near-fatal encounter with the deranged killer in 1991. A police investigation later found that Dahmer's apartment was full of the dismembered body parts of his victims, with decapitated heads and severed penises just some of the gristly evidence unearthed in the 31-year-old's Wisconsin home. 

Edwards went on to testify against Dahmer in court, recalling how the cannibal had handcuffed him, retrieved a knife, and declared that he would "eat his heart." 

Dahmer was found mentally competent to stand trial in February 1992, despite pleading guilty by reason of insanity to his crimes. He was initially sentenced to 15 terms of life imprisonment but later received a 16th term of life imprisonment for an additional homicide he had committed in Ohio. 

Edwards would go on to face his own legal issues in future years, after being charged with homicide in 2011. 

A witness reportedly said that Edwards had pushed a homeless man named Timothy Carr off a bridge, causing him to fall to his death. In 2012, Edwards was sentenced to prison for a year and a half after pleading guilty to aiding a felon in a plea agreement with prosecutors, Fox News reported. 

It remains unknown where Tracy Edwards is today, but some reports have claimed he has been homeless since 2012.