While Charlie Hunnam’s performance as Ed Gein in Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story is undeniably committed, the actor’s vocal choices have led many viewers to wonder whether the infamous serial killer really spoke like that. Season 3 of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix true-crime show Monster focuses on Ed Gein, a small-town serial killer with a big pop culture footprint.
While Monster: The Ed Gein Story’s ending tries to find some sympathy for its troubled title character, the show has come under fire for numerous major inaccuracies in its portrayal of Gein, his victims, and real-life associates of the killer. The handling of Evelyn Hartley’s story in Monster: The Ed Gein Story swerves notably far from reality.
How Charlie Hunnam Developed His Own Voice For Ed Gein In Monster
Hunnam Based His Gein Voice On The Character’s Alleged Relationship With His Mother
However, this should not be overly surprising, since the creators of Monster: The Ed Gein Story were not entirely focused on veracity when they put the series together. In a Variety interview, star Charlie Hunnam, who plays Gein, admitted that the creators didn’t really have an idea of Gein’s voice, so he developed one.
Hunnam said that the soft-spoken, surprisingly high-pitched voice he put on as Gein was based on how Gein might talk in a way that would please his mother. Per Hunnam, “I started to see him through a series of affectations to please his mother. That’s where the voice came from.”
What Ed Gein Really Sounded Like
Gein’s Real-Life Voice Isn’t Particularly Close To Hunnam’s Creative Choices
Notably, the same Variety interview mentions that Hunnam accessed rare audio of Gein’s real voice from Joshua Kunau, producer of the documentary “Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein.” Despite this, Hunnam’s voice in the series isn’t very close to the real-life Ed Gein’s voice.
In Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Hunnam’s voice as Gein is immediately striking. It’s high and light, almost surreal in its childlike mannerisms. However, a rare voice interview with Gein, recorded in 1957 and featured in “Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein,” reveals a much raspier, more traditionally masculine voice.
Gein’s mental incapacity is clear in the clip, but his voice is less childish and more straightforwardly shaky and uneven. He sounds unwell and distant, but nowhere near as high-pitched as Hunnam’s portrayal.
Why Charlie Hunnam’s Ed Gein Voice Is So Divisive
Hunnam’s Voice For Gein Is A Big Swing Some Viewers Didn’t Appreciate
From Gein killing his brother in Monster: The Ed Gein Story to his relationship with Adeline Watkins in the show, it is clear that the series made plenty of big adjustments to reality. However, Hunnam’s voice, in particular, has received plentiful criticism for being almost “Comical.”
Most of the comments on the rare interview featuring Gein’s voice note the lack of similarity with Hunnam’s portrayal, and it is hard not to think that a more accurate series might have been able to get away with such a risky creative choice. However, since Monster: The Ed Gein Story already had plenty of major changes to paper over, it is not a shock that audiences didn’t buy Hunnam’s bizarre Gein voice.
Sources: Variety
Enjoy ScreenRant’s primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for our weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check “Network TV” in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series.