Frank Ockenfels
“There’s a loneliness at that time of his life that I think was interesting and felt human.”
When you take on a role that somebody else made famous, it’s not easy. Patrick Gibson knew when he started playing a younger version of Michael C. Hall’s Dexter Morgan, a Miami serial killer, in Dexter: Original Sin, that risk is “farther to fall, in a way.” Hall “can’t even be turning in his grave,” because he’s still very much involved with the role. “It must be a weird thing to see somebody else step into that, but I have to say he was so generous and welcoming, I think because he was a part of it getting made.” What makes this origin story so fascinating is that we get to see a time when Dexter didn’t have his murders perfected. “He really is relying on his base instincts and the lessons that he’s picking up from just starting working in Miami Metro.” There’s also “a loneliness at that time of his life that I think was interesting and felt human.” And while he’s very much a psychopath, the audience is still rooting for him. “I think it’s that weird Robin Hood moral gray area.” Gibson is ready for season two. “So much happens in season one, but there’s also so much left unresolved.”
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Editor’s Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.
How excited are you to be part of the Dexter universe?
I mean it, it’s so fun. I think it is an unusual one. I remember at the start, people were asking me how I felt about going into something that is so, on paper, kind of dark, and you’re going to spend six months being a serial killer. But I love the original, just for how much humor and the tone of it was so unique, they’re dealing with such dark things, but in such a vibrant and fun and poppy way, and that’s kind of what it felt like doing it. So stepping into something that I’d already seen and loved came with a little bit of trepidation, just because it’s something that people already love, which means it’s farther to fall, in a way. But it was so much fun. It was just a blast, and it’s just such a fun character.
Patrick Wymore/Paramount+ with Showtime.
What specifically interested you about this character?
The first season of the original Dexter, it already feels like there is a story to be told there. I don’t think everything should have an origin story or a sequel or prequel made, but in this [one], you meet a character in episode one of the original series who’s so fully fledged in the art of killing, and he kind of has this system down, and you hear about the code and stuff, and so that naturally lends itself to the questions of how he got here and you see the flashbacks and stuff. I think there’s just such a rich history to be explored, so that was why I was interested.
But you also have the reality that Michael C. Hall still very much exists and is involved. Was that intimidating?
I know, he can’t even be turning in his grave. That was a massive part of it for me. It’s one thing when you play a role for six months, or you do a season of something, it’s completely different when you’ve done something for a chunk of your life like he has with with Dexter. It must be a weird thing to see somebody else step into that, but I have to say he was so generous and welcoming, and I think because he was a part of actually it getting made. I know Clyde [Phillips], the showrunner, didn’t want to do something without his blessing, and didn’t want to tell a story that didn’t need to be told and make something [just] because there’s interest, like the cynical version of doing something like this. So when I stepped into it, Michael had seen some of the auditions, but it really wasn’t until we did a table read where he was doing the inner monologue, and I was doing the lines that he was like, “Okay, we can do this.” It’s definitely a nerve-wracking thing. And then we spoke after the premiere and thankfully, he was incredibly encouraging and kind about it, and also just acknowledged what a bizarre task it is to have. I didn’t want to do an impression of him, because when you meet Michael, a lot of Dexter’s idiosyncrasies are in him. That’s what’s so interesting for me to watch and really study, how an actor is doing their job. It’s such a rare thing to do, just how precise and forensic he is about it, he has a manner that he carries with him when he’s doing a crime scene, or when he’s speaking about it or when he’s lying and all of these things. And I don’t think that’s just Michael’s own way of being, I think he really studies and works on that stuff. I just felt a responsibility to absorb as much of that as I could and then try not to do a full impression, because he brought so much of himself to it.
Patrick Wymore/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.
One of the odd things about this character is that, despite him being a serial killer, you find yourself rooting for him. What do you think it is about him that makes him so likable?
That’s definitely part of its allure, that it somehow manages to walk that really fine line of, I mean, he has a moral code, he literally has the code, but his moral code is not something that we should accept as easily as I think we as an audience do. And I think that’s what’s really interesting about it; through a different lens that story is a pretty hard sell. When they first made it, nobody really thought it would work. They took a big risk on it, but I think the fact that you’re in his head is a big part of it, for me anyway. I always love books that are from a first-person perspective. I think you can get away with a lot, and there aren’t that many shows that use that device of having thoughts [on display]. I think it just subconsciously puts you in that character’s shoes and you’re with them for the ride. So you kind of give them the benefit of the doubt. So yeah, I think it’s that weird Robin Hood moral gray area.
What made this season so special? And also, what are we setting up for Dexter next season?
This season feels almost like a pilot episode, in a way, so much to set up. I think to see a character who we know so well as being such a well-oiled machine, stumbling through every obstacle that they face, I think the stakes are just inherently so much higher for Dexter in this time of his life, because he doesn’t have the skills yet to get out of things. He really is relying on his base instincts and the lessons that he’s picking up from just starting working in Miami Metro. So I think that lends itself to a slightly more high octane rather than a psychological slow burn show.
We really are allowed to see that middle area, of how he gets to the place we know he’s going.
I know. And so much happens in season one, but there’s also so much left unresolved, and that’s what I kind of love. We had a lot of discussions about that with even costume and hair and how much closer do we want to be to the Dexter that we meet in season one by the last episode of this [season], and I sort of feel like he’s 20 percent there or 30 percent there. There’s characters we still haven’t met. There are characters who maybe feel like there’s more to uncover. I don’t want to say spoilers, but what I love about Clyde’s writing is he’s able to plant seeds really early on in episodes. You find that in the original series, where little things will happen, and they kind of open a loose end and then in a really satisfying way, those loose ends start to come together. And by the end, all of these seemingly disparate elements all come together. And I think that’s such a fun part of the show, and that’s kind of like [how] this season, to me, feels like it’s just planted the first seed, and there’s a lot of sh** about to be good.
So since Michael C. Hall put so much of himself into the character, what of you are you putting into this character?
I think the part of this season that I kind of resonated with, or I found interesting, was him grappling with being somebody who’s on the outside of everything, socially, in relationships. And although he’s a psychopath, that’s also up for debate, but in this time of his life, that’s what he believes about himself and how he feels about the world. He doesn’t look at things in a regular, conventional way. And so there’s a loneliness at that time of his life that I think was interesting and felt kind of human, even though he’s not experiencing it in the same way. There’s a logical realization that in order to get by, I’m going to have to figure out how to be like these other people. And I oddly think that’s not an experience unique to psychopaths, right? That’s something that happens around that time of your life. And I don’t know that was something that I felt was somewhat personal, but also could be a part of that.
There’s also a physicality to this character that I think is interesting. How much of that impacted how you were going to play him?
A few weeks before we started shooting and reading the scripts, I was like, so this guy is taking down these big dudes. And I knew that he had a real interest in wrestling and jiu-jitsu from the original and then Michael was, he’s in great shape. I think there’s a funny juxtaposition, he just eats all this food, but one of my favorite parts of [his] characterization is that he’s this empty void that just can’t be filled. Like he has to keep eating food because it also suggests that there’s, under the surface, there’s some kind of machine that is just insatiable, yeah? And so I definitely worked out before it. I knew I had to do a lot of stuff. Like, he picks up his dad, just the way he’s written and everything in the show is a little heightened, right? It kind of feels almost comic-booky, and that’s fun, because you get away with certain things. He’s got an element of comic-book character.
Scott Patrick Green/Netflix
I need to ask you about The OA, because the fan base for that is intense. There was someone who protested outside the Netflix offices to bring it back.
I believe the person who told me [about the protest said] she went on a hunger strike. It was unbelievable. It is a mad thing. Somebody just the other day, I was writing in a cafe, and they kind of tapped me on the arm. “I just want to say I really love that show.” And then came back into the cafe and was like, “Hey, if you ever need anybody to get the show made…” And it’s just crazy. People really feel like they want that story to be finished. It was unreal.
I get it. If Sex and the City just randomly went away, I would want some resolution to it. That said, I don’t think I’m gonna go on a hunger strike for Carrie Bradshaw.
I think you got to take a good look at yourself. Then I think that’s the kind of commitment we need for Sex and the City. [laughs]
But The OA fan base is just so unique, so rabid, so individually unique. How does it feel to have been part of a show that had that much of an impact on people?
It’s honestly just so nice that some of the people care about it. I didn’t realize at the time that’s not what happens every time you do a job, you know? That’s the best thing, when something you do brings people joy or especially comfort. I think if something resonates with people, and that story specifically [did]—people just said that, in hard times, it’s helped them, or it helped change their perspective on something—that’s so cool. It’s a lofty ambition to have [for] film and TV, sometimes it can get a little pretentious if your whole mission is to change the world by making a TV show. But it’s really cool when something does resonate with people, and to know that there’s support from something from ages ago is so lovely. And everyone that I’ve met and spoken to, everybody who watched it, always have really interesting conversations.
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