Dexter: Original Sin star Patrick Gibson — 'No one checked if I was someone who fainted at the sight of blood when I got the role!'

Since we first met Dexter Morgan back in 2006, the vigilante serial killer has held a grim fascination for millions of viewers, as we’ve watched the one-time blood splatter analyst — played by Michael C. Hall — rid the world of heinous criminals who had evaded justice.

The titular character's job in the Miami Metro Police Department meant he knew which villains to target and how to get away with bumping them off. Now 10-part prequel series Dexter: Original Sin goes back to his early years as a forensics intern and charts how he became a bloodthirsty killer.

Set in 1991, Before We Die's Patrick Gibson plays Dexter, who's had urges to kill from a young age, while Christian Slater plays his adoptive dad Harry, a cop who helps his son channel his inner darkness by adopting a code that is to only kill bad people. Meanwhile, Hall returns in voice only to provide his internal monologue as he did in the previous series.

Here, Gibson, 29, reveals more about what to expect…

Where do we find Dexter at the beginning of the series?

"He's just dropped out of college and he's at a crossroads in his life about what to do. He decides to begin an internship in the forensics dept at the Miami Metro Police Department. It's his coming of age story, from teenage to adulthood, with all the complications that come with that while battling these urges that are becoming more powerful than he can control."

In the original series, we only saw Dexter’s dad Harry in flashback but we get to see more of him in Original Sin. What can you tell us about that?

“We explore their relationship from an earlier point than we saw in the original series. It’s fleshed out more. It's a fascinating father-and-son dynamic. For a lot of the season it’s the backbone of the show. There is a lot of love there but it's very complex. Raising a serial killer comes with a lot of challenges and moral questions which are really interesting to explore.”

How different is the prequel to the original series?

“The similarities are that it still has that blend of colourful, poppy, fun, Miami backdrop but with the darkness that inherently comes with being a serial killer. So it's that unusual blend of comedy and fun with much darker, dramatic moments. I think the difference would be where he is in his life; he has that kind of natural awkwardness that comes in your younger years.”

What was it like playing an earlier version of such an established character?

“It was a really interesting challenge. I had not played somebody where there was source material to draw from so a lot of the initial preparation was absorbing as much as I could of what Michael C Hall had done in the original, picking up on his idiosyncrasies and things that are so him, but also so Dexter, like his voice and movements. After that, it was really just finding how I bring my own spin on it as well.”

Did you swap notes about playing Dexter with Michael C Hall?

“We met in person for the first time at Comic Con [in San Diego]. I was doing a photoshoot and I turned around and he was just in front of me having spent so many days and nights listening to his voice and watching him. Meeting him in person was surreal. We spoke at length about Dexter and what made him tick, and he had some fascinating takes on him as a character. There are so many layers to him that you could talk about it all day.”

How did you find filming those scenes where Dexter kills his victims?

“I’m not particularly squeamish, but you know what’s funny? No one checked if I was someone who fainted at the sight of blood when I got the role! That would have meant quite a few challenges on set!’

Was Dexter a difficult character to latch on to? What qualities did you draw on to play him?

“The thing that I was most drawn to was his feeling that he’s an outsider. We’re in his head as an audience and we hear his thoughts, so there’s a natural empathy you have towards him because you see the world through his eyes. Even though he’s a serial killer, there’s something relatable about his feeling that he doesn’t fit in. I think at different points in everyone’s life they have that sense that the world is happening around them and they are watching it from the outside. So that’s really interesting to have a character who on paper has no empathy but be such an empathetic character to watch.”

The series has an amazing cast which includes Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, Heathers and Mr Robot star Christian Slater and Patrick Dempsey of Grey’s Anatomy and Bridget Jones’ Baby fame. Tell us about working with them…

“It’s so cool, the cast that they have assembled. I didn’t know who they had cast until the day I turned up at the production office and saw everyone’s pictures on the wall. We just go so lucky with the group that [showrunner] Clyde Phillips has assembled. It’s probably not luck; Clyde is just so great at putting people together. The original is a testament to that. They have been the greatest people to work with. You never know what someone is going to be like, it’s always a roll of the dice when you assemble a cast , but the chemistry is so good.”

As well as the original series of Dexter, we caught up with him in the 2019 series Dexter: New Blood and now we get to see him in his younger years. What do you think is the enduring appeal of this story?

“I think the moral ambiguity of the entire thing. It makes you question your allegiance to this character. Things tend to be black and white in terms of what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad. You find this character who is technically doing something morally reprehensible, but you can’t help but root for him. He’s the perfect anti-hero. There’s something in that that is fascinating, alluring and timeless. Those characters have existed for as long as we have been telling stories and a character that can make you question your own morality is fascinating.”

Dexter: Original Sin will be launching on Friday, December 13 2024 with Showtime on Paramount Plus in the US and on Paramount Plus in the UK. It's a 10-part series and episodes run weekly every Friday.