When it came time for Christian Slater to prepare for his role on the Paramount+ prequel series Dexter: Original Sin — on which he portrays the namesake killer’s adoptive father, originally played by actor James Remar — he uncovered that a lot of the heavy lifting had already been done for him.
“Somebody out there in the universe already did my research,” Slater says. “I typed in ‘James Remar dad Dexter scenes’ and ended up getting all the scenes [with Remar] from the original show, edited together. So I looked at a few of those, but I had already been a fan of the show, and I’ve always been a fan of James Remar. I think he did a fantastic job with the character.”
Slater notes that his assignment wasn’t to attempt an impersonation of Remar’s Harry Morgan, recounting that the show’s directors and creator, Clyde Phillips, wanted him and the other actors to do their own thing. “They really wanted us to make the characters our own, in a James Bond sort of way,” he says. “With each James Bond, there are new characters surrounding him and new interpretations of those characters, so that was what we got the opportunity to do, and it was fantastic.”
Slater alongside Patrick Gibson's younger Dexter in the prequel to the hit Showtime series series / Photo by: Showtime
Original Sin was also an opportunity for Slater to work alongside a stacked cast of recognizable names, including Patrick Dempsey, who he’d worked with more than 30 years ago, on the 1991 film Mobsters. “We hadn't really spoken since then, and it was just wonderful to reconnect and see him,” Slater says.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is also part of the Original Sin cast, and though the two hadn’t worked together before, Slater says he’s a longtime fan. The two happen to share a meta Buffy the Vampire Slayer connection, courtesy of a line from the Buffy movie (pre-dating Gellar’s show) in which Kristy Swanson’s slayer remarks out of frustration, “All I want to do is graduate from high school, go to Europe, marry Christian Slater and die!” Slater says about the quotable line (which Gellar shared on Instagram alongside a photo of them together), “It did come up, which was charming and funny and adorable. She's one of the sweetest people I've ever come across. My wife had just given birth to our son when we started production, and she wanted me to text her pictures of the baby on a regular basis. It brightened her day.”
Slater says it’s been great working on Original Sin, a project that comes with a built-in fan base. “It's exciting to be a part of something that has its own momentum to it. We're not necessarily just starting something new,” he says. “People are interested in it, and they want to know more about these characters. And it's been exciting to see the reaction to the show, with people pleasantly surprised there are some twists and turns and some more insights given.”
As a big fan of all genres of television, we asked Christian Slater to share some of the TV projects over the years that have helped define him.
My first favorite show as a kid: Batman
That one’s pretty simple. I mean, Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman. The original show was perfect. I was probably 5 years old when that was coming on, and I loved it. I loved the cliffhangers every week. I thought Batman and Robin were the coolest, and obviously the villains were brilliant. Cesar Romero, who played the Joker — I mean, the guy was masterful. There have been other Jokers since, but he definitely laid the groundwork. And it's funny, I didn't notice this when I was a kid, but I've since gotten the DVDs of the show. I popped one in and noticed that he never shaved his mustache. The makeup just went right on top of it. As a kid, you're not looking for that stuff.
The shows that were formative for me as a teen: M*A*S*H, Miami Vice
Photo by: Universal Television/NBC
M*A*S*H was a show I loved. My father was working at night, and my mother was pretty busy. We had one of those TVs that got very little reception, but somehow M*A*S*H would come through. And I remember All in the Family being a show that was on a lot in the house. Starsky and Hutch was another one, but then I also have to say, I think Miami Vice was one that that was certainly influential.
The show I consider to be ahead of its time: Star Trek
I think Star Trek — the original series — was way, way ahead of its time. I mean, all the different cultures coming together, working together in the future was just a very advanced and, I think, brilliant show. Gene Roddenberry was just a wonderful creator, and it blew my mind. And William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy to this day are still my absolute favorites.
Slater had a surprise cameo in the 1991 feature film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country / Photo by: Paramount
I’ve checked out [the other Star Trek series], but mainly the original. Obviously, The Next Generation. I've checked out Strange New Worlds a little bit, I checked out Voyager and Deep Space Nine. Was I an avid fan of those? Not really, but when I was a kid, Star Trek was the show that really gripped me and pulled me in. And that was before Star Wars, so it was the original thing that really got me going — the final frontier.
Shows that were must-watch, weekly viewing for me: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul
I think [creator and EP] Vince Gilligan is a genius. What he did with Breaking Bad was just so gripping. And Bryan Cranston. Both those guys were just so great on the show, and I loved it.
The show I can watch over and over again: 30 Rock
Every two or three years, I'll sit down and watch a few episodes. The chemistry on that show, and the writing — Tina Fey is just brilliant, Alec Baldwin is perfect, the show is just incredible.
The show I’d love to be brought back for one more season: Curb Your Enthusiasm
I can never get enough of that show. I adore Larry David. He’s a national treasure.
Shows I love that may surprise people: All Creatures Great and Small, Seaside Hotel
My wife and I will watch that show obsessively when it's on PBS. We just love it. We love the characters.
And there's another show that my wife and I accidentally started watching. It’s all in Danish, and the whole show is subtitled. It was seven or eight or nine seasons. [Ten, actually!] It's called Seaside Hotel [Badehotellet in Danish]. We started it, and it was just the greatest journey with this Danish cast. Even reading it, it was just a great, great show. I couldn't recommend it any more highly.
The show I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never seen: The Wire
Photo by: HBO
I have not sat down and watched The Wire, and everyone always says, “Oh, The Wire!” Maybe, just to be a rebel, I don't watch it, but I know that it's a great show, and I know someday I will, when I have the time to sit down. It's just hard, because there are so many new things, and it's hard to keep up. I just watched Adolescence, which blew my mind. I was like, wait a second, is this really a one-shot? And it was.
The first season of Dexter: Original Sin is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
