NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (UPI) — Christian Slater says his new crime dramedy, Dexter: Original Sin, was a nostalgia trip in more ways than one.
In addition to being helmed by Slater’s Heathers (1988) director Michael Lehmann and co-starring Slater’s former Mobsters (1991) cast-mate Patrick Dempsey, the prequel to the iconic serial-killer series Dexter is also set in the 1990s, an era when Slater was one of Hollywood’s most popular movie stars, headlining films like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, True Romance, Bed of Roses, Broken Arrow, Untamed Heart and Interview with the Vampire.
“There was a lot of nostalgia for me on this set, and it started, initially, with Michael Lehmann,” Slater, 55, told UPI in a Zoom interview with reporters Tuesday.
“He directed Heathers and now he was the director of this show and I hadn’t seen him in a very, very long time, years and years, so, that was really fun to get the opportunity to work with him again,” Slater said.
He was also happy to share the screen with Dempsey again.
“We were kids when we worked together, basically. I probably just turned 20, so, since then, we are both extraordinarily different people,” Slater said.
“It was just wonderful to get the opportunity to reconnect in this way,” he added. “We became friends while working together again and that’s where our relationship remains today.”
Reliving the 1990s on this new show also made Slater realize how much police investigative tools, such as databases, cell phones and global positioning systems, have improved in recent years.
“The bottom line is technology has moved in the right direction,” Slater said. “In order to get in contact with me as a police officer [in the 1990s], I had to have a pager. We’ve definitely increased in our skills as a society.”
Premiering Sunday on Showtime, Dexter: Original Sin casts Slater as Harry Morgan, a Miami Metro homicide detective, who adopts Dexter, a young traumatized crime victim with homicidal tendencies.
When the series opens, Dexter (Patrick Gibson) is a recent college graduate hired as an intern for the forensics team of Harry’s police department.
Obsessed with the macabre, Dexter soon starts killing heinous criminals in keeping with a code he and Harry agree upon.
“I do believe that [Harry] did have some hope that he could channel this in a particular way. I mean, he tries to take Dexter hunting. He’s got him in medical school, hoping that that will be enough to sort of quench his thirst,” Slater said.
“But, as we come to discover, even in the first episode, it’s just not going to work. This desire continues to grow and blossom. Harry wants to hold back and he begins to realize that he has to surrender and then Harry kind of gives him the green light, in a way. He’s sort of in a difficult position, but he does make that choice.”
James Remar — Slater’s co-star in 1990’s Tales From the Dark Side: The Movie — played Harry via flashbacks and dream sequences in the original Dexter.
Although Slater said he “kind of knows” Remar, he didn’t seek out the other actor’s advice in playing Harry.
“I think he wanted to give me room to kind of discover the character on my own,” Slater said.
Dempsey and Sarah Michelle Gellar play Harry’s fellow cops Aaron Spencer and Tanya Martin, while Molly Brown plays Harry’s daughter Debra and original Dexter portrayer Michael C. Hall gives a recognizable voice to Dexter’s disturbing inner thoughts.
Brown said she hasn’t met Jennifer Carpenter, the original Deb, but would love to some day.
“I got a note passed from the casting director, saying that i have her blessing and that she is my biggest supporter through all of it, which, thank God,” Brown added.
“I think you compliment her very well,” Slater told Brown. “You killed it.”
Slater credited Hall and the original show’s creator Clyde Phillips for the franchise’s enduring appeal.
“Michael C. Hall is an amazing actor. The cast was stellar and it’s a very conflicting type of character. Is this a guy that you really can root for? Is this somebody that you really can get behind?” he said. “Those are aspects that I think made it very intriguing for people.”
Brown agreed that viewers seem to enjoy stories about bad guys getting what they deserve.
“People root for vigilantes, especially, someone like Dexter, who is maybe taking it one step further than a superhero would, but, in, some ways, doesn’t it kind of make sense?” she said. “We don’t wish that on anyone, but we get why, fictionally, [that might be satisfying].”
The show is also now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime.