The second series of Dexter - TV's greatest nice-guy forensic scientist vigilante serial killer - is returning just as star Michael C. Hall is up for an Emmy Award. He talks about the character's bloody learning curve to MICHELE MANELIS
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Death seems to be a constant theme in Michael C. Hall's career. He's playing America's favourite serial killer, Dexter, following the success of Six Feet Under, in which he played a highly strung funeral director.
"Death is very much a role again for me, that's true," he says. "But now it's from a different perspective. The person I played in Six Feet Under took care of corpses. In my role as a serial killer, I am providing the corpse."
Both shows are critically and commercially acclaimed and morbid in different ways. Hall says: "When Six Feet Under ended I didn't imagine anything else would materialise, let alone straight away with the same level of quality. When I read the script I knew it was something special."
Hall manages to accomplish the near-impossible feat of retaining a likeability factor in this dark and sinister leading role in the series, now in its second season.
"I think that has a lot to do with the construction of the show," Hall says. The fact that there is this voiceover element so you are in on the secret with Dexter and taking the ride with him in a way. And the fact that he does have this code of ethics that requires him to only kill people who are killers themselves, who are undeniably reprehensible.
"I think he lets the audience off the hook as far as being invited to sympathise with him."
Hall is clearly having fun with the role - and it shows.
He just received an Emmy nomination for best outstanding actor.
"Of course it comes down to the writing every time. But people relate to him.
"I think the things that Dexter says about himself that set him apart from the rest of humanity, as he thinks of it, are the things that make him the most relatable. His sense that he isn't authentic and is always faking it.
"I think we all can relate to a sense of inauthenticity from time to time or just watching someone with formidable secrets trying to do right by the commitments he's made in his life. I think that is eminently relatable and likeable."
Surprisingly, since inhabiting the mind of this crazed sociopath, Hall, 37, has landed on several magazines' sexiest lists. What is it about a sexually repressed serial killer that people are finding attractive?
"I'm not that surprised," he says. "I think while he is quite repressed when we first meet him, he's come a long way. That's attractive I suppose. And I think he's a real proactive guy. He's a go-getter, and he makes things happen."
The humour in Hall's disturbing theory is not lost on him. "Seriously, he doesn't just talk about what he's going to do. He does it. And that's attractive to some people."
Hall has lived with Dexter inside his head now for three years. Naturally, some of his attitudes or thoughts have rubbed off on him.
"While I'm not inclined towards the compulsive behaviours as Dexter, thankfully, I have probably spent more time thinking about how we all are compulsive in different ways, and how we all have our secrets and they're very powerful.
"Maybe I've learned a bit about compartmentalisation and stress management. I think when you live with a character this long, inevitably there's some back and forth that starts to happen between you and it."
Of course, if you're going into the serial killing business, a strong stomach is required - even if it's merely acting.
"I don't feel sick when I see stuff like that. But I think if I ever walked on set and discovered they were actually using a real body I would probably lose my lunch as fast as anybody. Knowing that it's fake really lets me off the hook on that front so I haven't been squeamish," he explains. "Maybe my five years on Six Feet Under pretending to embalm people prepared me for it."
When comparing the two shows and their level of repugnance, he says: "Gosh, I think it's actually kind of a toss-up between vivisection and embalming. They're both kind of repulsive in their way."
It's been an interesting ride for the audience. What can audiences expect now from our unpredictable anti-hero?
"I think Dexter is always learning, and evolving, and changing. Certainly when he discovers in the first season that he has a brother, someone he never imagined could exist, someone who knows him for who he is and actually embraces that part of him. I think that without him maybe consciously realising it awakened some sense of an emotional life that he didn't know he had access to. So that's a big change. Being forced to do him in and slash his throat was a big change. To have that person emerge in your life and then have to kill them is rough."
And of course, Dexter now has a love interest, played by Julie Benz in the role of Rita Bennett. "Yes, he's got a girlfriend and we see a more personal side to him in this season. He changes all the time."
Walking around the set, it would be an understatement to describe it as a little dour and grey. "Well, it's not like I hang out here on weekends," Hall laughs. "With an intense show like this, I try to do things that are on the light side of life."
LOWDOWN
Who: Michael C. Hall in Dexter
Where & when: Dexter. Second series starts Tuesday, August 5, at 9.30pm on Sky TV's The BOX.
