Riverside Brookfield High School senior Nicolas Lofgren was involved in Netflix’s “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” whose first episode aired Oct. 3. Lofgren spent a day on the set of the TV series as an extra in Woodstock, IL. While on set, Lofgren learned more about the filming process and people involved in bringing the series to life.
The first part of the Netflix anthology series was “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” which was followed by “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” Lofgren has had previous minor acting experience in addition to RB’s theatre program and learned about the opportunity to get involved with the series online.
“I had to submit a couple pictures [and] information about myself,” Lofgren said. “They got me fitted for costumes, and it was cool. I got to meet a lot of people, and it was a lot of adults. I think I was the youngest one there. I was just on the threshold to be there—I was still 17.”
Lofgren has an interest in acting, although he feels it can be a challenge at times. He appreciates the thrill that comes with different types of acting and believes that prior experience is key in building a strong resume in acting. If an individual is interested in auditioning for a particular role, it’s key to have done prior work.
“I was in the background of a couple scenes doing various different things,” Lofgren. “I’m inspired to be something of an actor, it’s all fun to me. I like getting to meet new people and hear their perspectives on certain things. You got to climb the ranks, starting out as an extra and getting some stuff on your list.”
Being on the set of “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” has changed the way that Lofgren perceives media like movies and TV shows. When Lofgren was younger, he enjoyed watching the behind-the-scenes documentaries for different movies.
“It didn’t get into my head until I was actually on set,” Lofgren said. “They have actual cameras and mics everywhere. They do a bunch of different things—one scene would only be a little bit—but it actually goes on for longer in the scene because of how they edit it. It’s cool how they do that. When I’m watching shows now, I wonder, ‘Where are the cameras? They just showed that scene,’” Lofgren said.
The scenes Lofgren was in were filmed in the greater Chicago area, and he had the opportunity to talk with people who had traveled to be in those particular scenes.
“I thought it was really fun to be on set,” Lofgren said. “I talked to a bunch of different people that had done different things. There was this one guy that I was talking to, he used to live in L.A., and he had a radio talk show, and he was in an early Marvel movie. I realized people from all over are coming to do this stuff. It just shows how lucky I am to live in this area because you find opportunities like that.”
Lofgren gives a lot of credit to his mom for supporting him and learning about acting opportunities that could help him gain experience.
“She’s been able to support me [and] help me by looking for these little opportunities, just certain things,” Lofgren said. “Sometimes she comes up to me just to be like, ‘There’s this new thing for this new show happening over there.’”
Lofgren is excited for what the future holds and will also be playing Nick Carraway in RB’s fall play “The Great Gatsby.”
“Even if I don’t go fully into acting, it would be nice to just show different workplaces,” Lofgren said. “I’ve done this, I’ve been in this, I’m open to trying new things. It’s always fun, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
