Christian Slater and Patrick Gibson star in the highly anticipated prequel “Dexter: Original Sin.” The series is set 15 years before audiences first met Dexter, from the award-winning original series starring Michael C. Hall.
The new series, which will stream on Paramount+, follows young Dexter, played by Gibson, as he evolves from college student to serial murder vigilante. Slater plays Dexter’s father, Harry, a homicide detective who teaches his son an ethical code for killing.
In the series premiere, Dexter tells his father the truth.
“Harry, he’s a cop. He’s seen a lot of people get away with things they shouldn’t have done, so he’s trying to channel Dexter’s bloodlust in that kind of direction. When you think about it, imagine how many more serial killers there would be in Miami without Dexter,” Slater said.
“See, he’s already justifying it,” Gibson responded with a laugh.
The duo said they worked together in advance to embrace their roles as father and son.
“I understood how much he likes to work. He understood how much I like to work and we just like to have a good time,” Slater said.
Gibson and Slater both credit the show’s writing with helping them channel their characters.
“It’s so fun to play a character who is sort of constrained by society’s expectations of him on a daily basis, and then when you do these murder scenes, he’s finally able to be himself,” Gibson said. “So there’s an ugly, liberating side to it, which is a weird thing to say when you’re a serial killer.”
For Slater, he said the prequel offered the opportunity to learn more about his character Harry and his love for his son.
“In the original series, he was a character that you could glimpse, someone who was in Dexter’s mind,” he said. “Now you’ll learn more about his past, what motivates him and the traumas he suffered that led, I think, to his unconditional love for Dexter.”
“Dexter: Original Sin” premieres Friday, December 13 on Paramount+ with Showtime.
