Iconic actress Michael Learned (“The Waltons”) chatted about starring in the hit series “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” on Netflix.
For her powerful acting performances throughout her respected career in TV and film, Michael Learned earned four Primetime Emmy Awards, all of which were for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.”
‘Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’
Learned starred as Catherine Dahmer, Jeffrey’s paternal grandmother, and she worked opposite Emmy winner Evan Peters. “Working with Evan Peters was fabulous, he is such a nice person and a great actor. We had a good time, even though the content was gory. I was the good ole grandma,” she said.
“That was a treat, actually,” Learned said. ‘The writer, David McMillan, gave me some meat to crunch on, it was nice. It wasn’t just the usual generic old lady.”
“I really appreciated David’s take on this woman because she really had some places to go in her journey,” she said about the writer.
Her role as Catherine Dahmer has been generating Primetime Emmy buzz for the veteran actress, and rightfully so.
‘Dahmer’ surpasses one billion views on Netflix
In a little over two months, “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” made streaming history, where it it became the third Netflix series to surpass one billion views. “Wow, everyone loves a serial killer, I guess,” Learned said with a sweet laugh about this feat.
“Evan is such an attractive actor that he managed to pull it off well,” she said. “In my scenes with him, Evan was very lovable. He never played sly, and I never dreamed that his character was a serial killer.”
‘The Waltons’
“Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” premiered exactly 50 years after Learned’s timeless role of Olivia Walton on “The Waltons,” and it represents the actress’ remarkably versatility and reinforces her Emmy caliber prowess. “It has been a long time, and people are still watching it. That is still flattering to all of us,” she said.
‘The Waltons’ reunion at The Hollywood Museum
Learned recently joined her beloved TV family (“The Waltons”) and special guests for a cast Q&A session and exhibit with costumes, props, scripts, and more supplied by Warner Brothers to be unveiled at The Hollywood Museum in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of The Waltons. “That was fun,” she said. “We always have a good time when we get together. We were all very close.”
“That show was a big gift in my life,” she admitted. “I was down and out. I was going through a divorce, I had no money, three kids, two cats and four dogs, so getting that part was God’s hand on my shoulder, it really was.”
‘General Hospital’
In 2010, she also did a guest role on “General Hospital” in the role of Shirley Smith. “That show had wonderful people to work with. This role was a cameo for me, I played a judge,” she said, prior to praising all the soap actors on “General Hospital” for all the hard work and pages of script they have to learn each night.
Success
On her definition of the word success, Learned said, “Waking up every day at this point. Also, love. I have a loving family, a wonderful husband, that is success. I have worked hard on it.”
Fans
For her fans, Learned said, “I have the nicest fans in the world, and I think that’s because people loved Olivia, and that is really nice. Even Dahmer’s grandma was not a bad person, she was just a little clueless especially because he was dragging body parts through her kitchen. She was in denial; if I had bad smells coming out my basement, I would go down and take a look.”
