Evan Peters on playing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer: 'couldn't say no to script’

Evan Peters, long known for portraying dark roles including a recent turn as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer wishes to play someone 'normal.'

Before filming Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story the 35-year-old actor expressed to creator Ryan Murphy that he would consider doing a romantic comedy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Peters had previously worked with Murphy on American Horror Story, playing a school shooter in the first season, and later a cult leader in American Horror Story: Cult.

After reading the script for the Netflix series based on the true story of the serial killer, Peters couldn't say no.

Once Evan read the script, Murphy, 56, said, '[Evan] called me the next day, and he said, "It’s so challenging. It’s so difficult that I kind of have to say yes to it, even though I’m terrified of it."'

Before Murphy passed the script to the X-Men: Apocalypse star he auditioned 100 people, the outlet reported.

After snagging the lead in the series, he buried himself in research to try to understand the convicted murderer.

The finished project of the three-year-long undertaking turned out to be a huge success.

Within three weeks of its release, the show was watched a whopping 701.37 million hours.

Dahmer murdered 17 people between 1978 and 1991 - many of whom were young, gay African-American men. The show is now the second most-viewed English Netflix series of all time.