Nicholas Alexander Chavez is having a breakout moment with major roles in two of Ryan Murphy’s latest projects: the Netflix miniseries “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and FX’s upcoming Catholic horror fable “Grotesquerie.” During a press conference on Monday promoting the latter series, Chavez explored how the two productions required different approaches, as one is based on real events and the other is a fictional story.

“Ryan is a world builder. It was interesting because I got to work with him in two very different worlds. The Menendez Project already had a context for it, where we’re telling the story based on true events from 1989 and the early 1990s,” Chavez said. “While this project was a whole new world, where the only limitations were our creativity and imagination. It was interesting just being thrown into the depths of what Ryan can come up with. It was an honor and a privilege to experience both.”

In “Grotesquerie,” Chavez plays Father Charlie Mayhew, an enlightened priest who faces new revelations after an encounter with Detective Lois Tryon, played by series lead Niecy Nash-Betts. Meanwhile, Chavez leads “Monsters” as Lyle Menendez, the older sibling of Erik (Cooper Koch). The pair of brothers became household names when their murder trial was televised in the early 1990s. The two were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for the murder of their parents.

During Monday’s interview, Chavez also explained that he went from “Monsters” to “Grotesquerie” quite quickly, with little time to switch gears.

“There was no time in between and there was no compression,” Chavez said. “One of the nicer aspects of playing Father Charlie is that I was actually able to just follow my impulses. I just trusted my instincts. Everyone around me helped me make really bold choices. With Lyle, there was intense, intensive preparation. This one was more of a raw, unbridled impulse.

FX’s “Grotesquerie” premieres the first hour of the 10-episode season on Wednesday. “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is now available to stream on Netflix.