Netflix
‘Dexter’ Star Michael C. Hall Returns to TV in Netflix’s ‘Safe,’ the Latest Step in His “Dexorcism”
Michael C. Hall hasn't had a regular TV role since Showtime's Dexter ended in 2013, but that's about to change. The Golden Globe-winning actor, also known for his work on HBO's Six Feet Under, is returning to television in Netflix's new drama Safe.
In the eight-episode series — which starts streaming on Netflix on May 10 — Michael plays Tom, a man raising two teen daughters after the death of his wife from cancer. One of those daughters disappears after sneaking away to a party, leading Tom into the underbelly of murder and mystery in his affluent English suburb.
Yes, this American actor adopts a British accent for the role, but that's not the only big difference between Tom, a pediatric surgeon, and Dexter, a vigilante serial killer. "Having a chance to play someone who is more or less a normal person and around and to whom crazy things are happening, as opposed to a person within whom crazy things are happening was a nice change of pace," Michael tells Variety.
"When Dexter ended, I wanted to mix it up and felt like the cumulative effect of the things I have done since has served as a sort of 'Dexorcism,'" he adds. "I try not to take it all too seriously. I realize Dexter will be in the first paragraph of my obituary if one is written, maybe the first sentence, but that's fine."
The 47-year-old says the first episode of Safe had him hooked: "I was immediately drawn in. I had a sense of the character's complexity. I also found my jaw dropping probably three times reading through the first episode with the surprises of it."
As other steps of his Dexorcism, Michael has popped up as "The Bulgarian" in this year's comedy Game Night, played John F. Kennedy in Netflix's The Crown, and donned drag for the Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. But is there a chance he'll return to his most famous role? "It's a possibility given how the show ended that we could revisit Dexter," he says. "I have just yet to, for my part, imagine or hear someone else's idea that makes it feel worth doing. But never say never."
