“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” brought in a number of Hollywood icons to show how the Wisconsin killer had a ripple effect through the filmmaking industry, but Alfred Hitchcock was the first, most notable and most recognizable appearance.
The “Psycho” director shows up early in the series, which flashes forward from the events of the Ed Gein case to Hitchcock’s development and production of his iconic horror film. Much of Norman Bates and his relationship with his mother was inspired by Gein and his own mom, and the series explores the effect making “Psycho” had on the director and Hollywood as a whole.
Here is who transformed to play Hitchcock in “Monster” and how accurate the show’s portrayal of the director is.
Who plays Alfred Hitchcock in “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”?
In “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” Alfred Hitchcock is played by Tom Hollander. The actor is most known for his roles in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice,” “About Time,” “In the Loop,” “The Night Manager” and “Gosford Park.”
More recently, Hollander appeared as Quentin in “The White Lotus” Season 2 and worked on another Ryan Murphy project, “Feud,” where he played Truman Capote, for which he earned an Emmy nomination.
How accurate is Hitchcock’s character in the show?
With every season of “Monster” that Netflix releases, much of the accuracy needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The depiction of Hitchcock is no different. For starters, there is a scene where Hitchcock takes “Psycho” star Anthony Perkins (played by Joey Pollari) around a set replica of Gein’s home. “Psycho” famously took place at the Bates Motel, so having a rural Wisconsin home built on the lot does not mesh with the reality.
The violence depicted in “Psycho” as seen in the series is also heightened from what Hitchcock’s actual movie looks like. It is gorier and shows the knife in the iconic shower scene going into the woman, which is only implied in the real thing.
And finally, it’s not really clear how bothered Hitchcock actually was by “Psycho” sending Hollywood down a more violent path. Similarly, though Hitchcock’s output decreased during the final decade of his career, there’s little evidence that he struggled to get other projects made because all the studios wanted from him were more “sex horror” movies. Other factors at play during that period included changes to the studio system, the deaths of longtime creative partners —such as editor George Tomasini in 1964 and composer Bernard Hermann in 1966 —as well as Hitchcock’s own age and health concerns.
