Michael C Hall Interview: Dexter's deviations from the code have humanised him

New Indian Express

2 days ago

The actor continues, 'But there are characters on television now who are much more sort of just straight-up reprehensible. Dexter is doing reprehensible things, but in his own sort of outside-the-lines morality, he is trying, and I think in this new instance, really trying to be rigidly an adherent of the code. Like Bob Dylan said, 'To live outside the law, you have to be honest'. And I think Dexter has come to realise that he needs to be an honest advocate and proponent of his own code."
Despite his rigid adherence to the code, Dexter, on occasion, veers away from it in the original series. Sometimes, these deviations are a matter of self-preservation, but there are also instances, such as a particularly memorable rage killing, where Dexter's primal instincts take over, resulting in him breaking his own rules. For an actor portraying such a morally complex character, these moments of deviation must be particularly challenging. Do they lead to conversations with the creators about the character's direction and consistency? Hall thoughtfully considers the implications of Dexter's occasional missteps. "There have been things that have happened over the course of the show that in hindsight, I wonder about, but I think anytime Dexter has deviated from the code, it has humanised him. I mean, we all, unless you are a completely indiscriminate sociopath, have some sort of sense of what is and is not right. And we are all very much capable of falling short of that moral compass and fall short of it every day, all day. And so to see Dexter's appreciation of and adherence to the code is now more informed and seasoned and fortified for having defied it and broken it and seen the consequences. So I think it is important for the evolution of the character to see him fail and succeed in a way that is informed by that failure."
The makers of Dexter: Resurrection plan to continue the serial killer story beyond its first season. Two episodes of the first season are currently streaming on Prime Video, and the creators will release the rest of the episodes in the coming weeks. Dexter: Resurrection introduces new cast members, such as Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Stonestreet, and Krysten Ritter as members of the mysterious cult of serial killers that Dexter infiltrates under a new identity.