In a candid sit-down about Lifetime’s Monster in the Family: The Stacey Kananen Story, actor Brendan Taylor opens up about why he chased one of the toughest roles of his career, and how he protected his head and heart while filming it. What began as “an audition like any other” quickly became a calling: the material’s moral gray zones and painfully human choices hooked him. “I like these complex stories that make us ask questions about our own morality,” he says, noting how easily ordinary people can rationalize extraordinary actions based on what they’ve endured. That universality, “everyday kind of people, something that could happen in almost any society,” is what pulled him in.
Because the film is rooted in real events, Brendan approached the part like a journalist and an empath. He dove into research, including publicly available court depositions, and mined the writer and director for context. The goal wasn’t to judge, but to honor. “You have to see where they’re coming from to explain that behavior,” he says. Playing Ricky, a real person now in prison, meant committing to the character’s inner truth, how he saw himself, what he believed he was owed after a stolen childhood, without ever excusing the harm.
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| © 2025 Corus Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Corus Television. |
Beyond technique, the story’s themes of trauma, family dynamics and survival, gave the work urgency. Brendan speaks openly about household abuse and its long tail, especially on children who adapt in very different ways just to get by. What moved him most was the arc of Stacey herself, who ultimately becomes an advocate. “That’s the important part. We’re bringing light to what this does, and somehow she turns it into strength for others.”
Authenticity was a team effort. Brendan calls working with Elisha Cuthbert “delightful” and elevating—her on-set fluency raised everyone’s game. Serendipity helped, too: he shares a long history with several cast members, including an actor who’d been his coach for years and a longtime theater collaborator. That built-in trust paid off in the film’s most intimate moments, like when production set up a real, enclosed driving environment for the truck sequence—no crew crammed in the cab, just two actors running the scene repeatedly and discovering new layers each pass. “That’s where the magic happens,” he says.
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| © 2025 Corus Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Corus Television. |
As for what’s next, Brendan’s just back from a pair of commercial shoots in Vancouver and Toronto, settling into Los Angeles, and jumping into class to keep the tools sharp. There are a few irons in the fire he can’t discuss yet—“feelers out,” as he puts it—but for now he’s focused on building community and staying ready.
This conversation only scratches the surface. Brendan goes deeper on craft, character, and the real people behind the headlines in the full video. Watch the complete interview below for the uncut, emotionally rich version.