‘Dexter: New Blood’: Michael C. Hall Says Dexter Has ‘Been There All Along’

Many years ago, Michael C. Hall stepped into Dexter’s world and played the affable serial killer in Dexter with apparent ease. Now, Hall has resumed his role as Dexter after a long hiatus. Dexter: New Blood will premiere on Nov. 7 on Showtime. Hall has admitted that it was a bit strange to be playing Dexter again. Still, the character seems to have never really left him, just to have gone away for a while.

Michael C. Hall played Dexter for almost a decade

Before he got his start playing Dexter Morgan, Hall was cast as mortician David Fisher in the series Six Feet Under. By the time he was cast as Dexter, he was no stranger to a dark setting. However, Dexter is where Hall really gained fame.

Showtime’s Dexter ran for eight seasons over eight years of filming. That’s a long time to be in the mind of one specific character. What’s more, Hall voiced Dexter’s inner monologue throughout the series, giving fans an extra look into the mind of everyone’s favorite serial killer.

Hall admits the line between him and his character is sometimes thin. “What is Michael’s perspective of Dexter? I think it would be as easy to answer what Dexter’s perspective of Michael might be,” Hall told Showtime. He clarified that, of course, they are not the same person. “I’ve spent so much time pretending to be him… I mean I’m not crazy, I don’t think I’m him. I don’t think he thinks he’s me,” he continued.

Hall reprises his character in ‘Dexter: New Blood’

It wasn’t as hard for Hall to return to his role as Dexter as fans might think. “It’s a crazy proposition, returning to a character after almost a decade,” he told Showtime. “It’s like discovering that this person that you thought you’d put away, he’s been there all along, off somewhere having his dream and you just turn the cameras back on.”

Dexter is a complicated character. He is able to charm everyone around him and live out a pretty normal life, all while hiding his urge to kill. “The more he’s doing his thing, the more therapeutic and cathartic it is to film it,” said Hall. “The job is kind of to just get out of his way, not to overthink it and just turn the Dexter faucet back on and let it flow.”

Dexter’s world is different in ‘Dexter: New Blood’

Although Hall was able to step back into his old role, Dexter will be in a different situation in the revival. He is living under a new name, Jim Lindsey, in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter is no longer working as a blood splatter analyst, though he does have a new police officer girlfriend.

At the start of the revival, Dexter hasn’t killed anyone since murdering Oliver Saxon in the series finale. However, it looks like that will change with the arrival of a new serial killer in Iron Lake.