Michael C. Hall says Dexter Morgan has developed “an appetite to be recognised and appreciated” that clashes with his need to stay hidden. Dexter Morgan’s survival has created a problem Hall says the killer never expected to face: growing older and wanting people to appreciate him while still needing to avoid capture.
In Dexter: Resurrection, that tension has become part of the character’s midlife crisis.
“I don’t think he ever really imagined himself at this stage of his life. He didn’t really think he’d make it this far…” Hall said.
Hall, 55, played Dexter for 8 seasons from 2006 to 2013, then returned in 2021’s New Blood before continuing with Resurrection. He says the writers keep finding changes for the character that neither he nor Dexter anticipated.
“To see him at this juncture in his life with maybe more of it behind him than ahead of him has been fun and I think it creates in him an appetite to be recognised and appreciated which is very much at odds with his desire not to be caught,” Hall said.
Resurrection’s 2nd season is set to return later this month, with Dexter facing 2 other killers: an established figure with decades of notoriety and a younger killer terrorising New York. His son Harrison, played by Jack Alcott, is also pursuing his own version of justice.
The move from Miami to New York has helped Hall find something fresh in the role, too. He describes the city’s energy as part of what’s revitalised the series: “Miami is soft and sort of wide open and humid and lush and New York is hard edges and concrete and defined.”