Winning viewers to the side of a vigilante murderer is no small feat — but with the help of a little voiceover work, it’s one that the “Dexter” crew has largely accomplished.
The acclaimed crime drama franchise stars Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, a forensic analyst who channels his own bloodthirsty tendencies into taking down corrupt criminals. According to Michael C. Hall himself, “Dexter” made its hard-sell main character more palatable by including his inner monologue as an audible voiceover, a stylistic choice that “subtly implicates” viewers throughout each episode. Hall explained to Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview with the original “Dexter” cast that his voice’s sly influence largely goes unnoticed by viewers, often confusing fans as to why exactly they sympathize with Dexter.
“My mother said, ‘I can’t watch [“Dexter,”] it’s too bloody,’ and I said, ‘Just watch it because I’m on it,'” added David Zayas, the actor of Dexter’s former co-worker Angel Batista. “She started watching and goes, ‘I’ve grown to love Dexter, and I understand why he does certain things.’ She was very clear in saying, ‘I don’t condone it!'” Dexter’s narration also lends the character a chance to explain his motives directly to the audience, encouraging fans to see his reprehensible victims solely through his eyes. “Everybody agrees that the people he kills deserve it,” reflected James Remar, who continues to play Dexter’s deceased father, Harry, in flashbacks and hallucinations.
Dexter’s voiceover made the series so much more than a crime drama
The long-running Dexter franchise has always been about
The long-running “Dexter” franchise has always been about more than just murder. In an interview with Collider, Clyde Phillips — the current showrunner for “Dexter: Resurrection” — affirmed that Dexter’s voiceover is a vital tool in not only exploring the character’s motivations as a secret serial killer, but his emotional growth as a human and a father. “[“Dexter: Resurrection”] is a family show, believe it or not. Because of the voice-over, it’s vulnerable,” Phillips explained.
“As the character has matured and as Michael Hall has matured … the storytelling matures, and Michael is willing to play that.” The currently-streaming “Dexter: Resurrection” largely centers around the character’s struggle to balance his urge to kill with the realities of his aging body. Confronted by sudden insecurities about his life’s impact, Dexter’s increasing thirst for acknowledgment highlights relevant issues that burden many people in his position, serial killer or no. “He finds himself at a juncture in his life where there’s maybe more of it behind him there than there is ahead of him, and what does he have to show for it?” Michael C. Hall told TVLine in the wake of the recent Season 2 premiere of “Dexter: Resurrection.”
“It creates an inherent conflict and invites him into taking dangerous risks … which is always a part of the fun.”
