Christian Slater and Patrick Gibson talk about the prequel “Dexter” and the role of a serial killer

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 air on Paramount+, follows young Dexter, played by Gibson, as he evolves from college student to serial killer. Slater plays Dexter’s father Harry, a homicide detective who teaches his son an ethical code for killing.

In the series premiere, Dexter comes to terms with his father.

“Harry, he’s a police officer. He’s seen a lot of people get away with things they shouldn’t have gotten away with, so he tries to channel Dexter’s bloodlust in that direction. If you think about it, imagine how many more.” “Without Dexter, there would be a lot of serial killers in Miami,” Slater said.

“See, he’s already justifying it,” Gibson replied, laughing.

The duo said they worked together beforehand to take on the roles of father and son.

“I found out how much he enjoys working. He found out how much I enjoy working and basically we just want to have a good time,” Slater said.

Both Gibson and Slater credit writing the series with helping them channel their characters.

“It’s so fun to play a character who is limited by society’s everyday expectations of him, and then when you do these killing scenes, he’s finally able to be himself,” Gibson said. “So it has an ugly, liberating quality to it, which is a bizarre thing to say serial killer.”

For Slater, he said the prequel offered an 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 head,” he said. “Now you actually learn more about his past, what motivates him and the traumas he endured that I think led to his unconditional love for Dexter.”

“Dexter: Original Sin” premieres Friday, December 13th on Paramount+ with Showtime.