Ross Lynch and Evan Peters have both played Jeffrey Dahmer, in two very different productions: the film My Friend Dahmer and Netflix’s 2022 drama series DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Other notable examples include Dominic Burgess as John Wayne Gacy in the series and Zac Efron as Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. These are selected screen portrayals, not a complete list.
Who played Jeffrey Dahmer?
Two widely recognized portrayals are Ross Lynch as the teenage Dahmer in My Friend Dahmer and Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer in Netflix’s DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Ross Lynch in My Friend Dahmer
Lynch plays Dahmer during his high-school years in the film My Friend Dahmer. The distributor’s FilmRise press kit credits Lynch in the role. The film draws on Derf Backderf’s graphic novel of the same name, which is based on Backderf’s experiences as a high-school classmate.
Evan Peters in DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Peters portrays Dahmer in Netflix’s 2022, ten-episode drama series. Netflix’s program page identifies the series as a drama based on real life and lists its episode count. Netflix describes the series as a dramatization, not a documentary; its framing emphasizes victims, their communities, and institutional failures as well as Dahmer. Peters told Netflix that respect for victims and their families felt important to him in taking on the role, in a Netflix Tudum cast feature.
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Other serial killers portrayed in these productions
| Actor | Person portrayed | Production and format |
|---|---|---|
| Dominic Burgess | John Wayne Gacy | DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix series) |
| Zac Efron | Ted Bundy | Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019 film) |
Netflix’s cast listing for DAHMER credits Burgess as Gacy. The Gacy role is part of the same series as Peters’s Dahmer portrayal; it is not a separate production. Netflix describes Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile as a drama based on Bundy’s story and lists Efron among its stars.
How the Dahmer productions differ
- Period depicted: My Friend Dahmer focuses on Dahmer’s high-school years; Netflix’s DAHMER portrays the adult killer and the crimes and failures surrounding the case.
- Format and approach: My Friend Dahmer is a film adapted from Backderf’s graphic novel. DAHMER is a ten-episode fictionalized drama based on actual events.
- Historical framing: Netflix’s synopsis says its series covers Dahmer’s killing of 17 victims between 1978 and 1991. That is the scope stated by the program, not an independently audited count here.
Because these works dramatize real crimes, a cast credit identifies who played a person; it does not make the production a documentary or establish that every scene is a factual record. Netflix’s own description of the series calls it a fictionalized account and discusses its focus on victims’ perspectives and institutional failures.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is this a complete list?
No. “Other serial killers” can include many real people and screen productions across countries and decades. The examples above establish these specific credits, but they are a representative selection rather than an exhaustive filmography. Streaming availability can change, so the titles and credits should not be taken as a guarantee that a production is currently available in a particular country.
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