Dexter Interview
Dexter Interview: Part II
Published: Friday, 22 February 2008, 12:32PM
There is real moral ambiguity at the heart of it, isn’t there?
“Yes it operates within a very morally ambiguous landscape. I won't deny that the audience is given permission to identify with someone who is killing people who are quite reprehensible. I would hope that the fans of the show appreciate it because it is neither black nor white, but operates in grey areas.
Why are people still so interested in serial killers?
“It’s my feeling that the public fascination with serial killers has something to do with the fact that we all have a shadowy side. I think they are fascinating to people because they are people – they are humans who have been so overwhelmed by a compulsion that they are driven to kill. We call them monsters and there is something quite dysfunctional about their interior landscape.
But I think the deeper fascination is a desire to consider and maybe come to terms with our own shadows, whatever form they take. Thankfully we're not all afflicted in the way Dexter is.
How have American audiences received it?
The reaction in the US has been gratifying because I believe this show pushes boundaries and challenges viewers to perhaps consider their responses.
If their reaction is initially positive, they think about that. If it's initially negative, that's something they deal with too and if it's some of both, then that's really interesting to me. I'm proud to be a part of something that inspires strong reactions no matter what they might be.
What’s it like playing a character who doesn’t feel emotion?
“I like the role of Dexter in a unique way, in that he claims to be without authentic human emotion. I'm sceptical about that, but it frees me up as an actor to suit my behaviour to match whatever situation Dexter finds himself in. That's a lot of fun to do and, when you're playing a character for a long time, it's nice to be able to mix it up in that way.
He does have one key relationship. Tell us about that
“Yes, the storyline between Dexter and his foster father, Harry, will continue to develop over the course of the first season and beyond. Obviously, it's a fundamental relationship for the character. Harry was a police officer and probably experienced a great deal of frustration about the things that he saw happen and injustices he perceived and couldn't do anything about.
Speaking as yourself for a moment, do you ever feel like taking revenge on someone?
“When it comes to revenge there are instances I can think of from my life, but most of those impulses, as they exist in me, I think that I am able to sublimate them. As far as fully executing revenge, that pretty much ended in elementary school. But maybe there were a few things in junior high or high school level.
Will he ever get caught?
“I don't know if or when Dexter might give himself away or what the mistake that gives him away in the future might be. I mean there are a lot of pretty precarious things about the way he does things – I mean as careful as he's been, there are bodies on the ocean floor, there are blood slides in his air conditioner, his apartment is chock full of killing tools. So he's always walking on a bit of a tight rope.