Michael C. Hall

coughs

That's a good question.

When we left him, he was... staring at the wall in a prison of his own making, and I think his self-imposed exile from the world continues. Though I imagine he's got a pretty serious itch he's aching to scratch.

1) I suppose so. Initially, David called upon me to explore my own relationship with internalized daddy issues and doormat issues and self-loathing issues, and while that was initially revelatory, after a while it started to feel like I was tilling dead soil.

It's an occupational hazard if you play a character for a long time.

2) Alan's great. He's very kind, with a great (dark) sense of humor. He's... not precious about his words. He's a great communicator, in terms of being an actor's director. And as someone who ran the show, he was very much at the head of the table in the writer's room. He never told me how to play David. He left the how up to me. And I think that he did that with all of us.

3) I was inside the character and inside the experience of the show. So the element of discovery or surprise wasn't there, in the same way.

Watching SIX FEET UNDER was the first time I ever - in any significant way - watched myself, and initially it was very difficult. I felt like I was looking at a world otherwise populated by believable humans, except for one alien who would pass in front of the camera from time to time, the alien being me...

But I did come to enjoy watching the show, as a whole. And I think there's something to be gained from watching oneself. It's sometimes more excruciating than others.

4) I never really put a gun to Peter's head and asked him to cry, so I don't know if he can cry on cue, although he does have access to a broad spectrum of his emotional life, as actors do, but I do stay in touch with Peter. When I was living in LA, we were actually not living too far away from each other, so we were able to see each other quite a bit, and I did see him here in New York a few months ago, so we stay in touch.

5) That would be really fun, to sit down with everybody at this point. We're coming up on 10 years, I guess, or maybe it has been 10 years since we finished... As far as calling shots for the HBO marketing machine, I don't really know if I have any clout in that regard! chuckle

ponders

Probably sadness.

Though... given what he'd been through, and his attempts to have his cake and eat it too in regards to indulging his compulsion to kill AND have a more authentic life, his self-imposed exile did resonate.

I think Dexter came to believe that... anything he touched would eventually be destroyed and so he felt he needed to let it all go. Of course, Dexter is also a pragmatist and a self-preservationalist so he didn't do himself in. But rather put himself on hold.

That's a tough one.

My favorite book, or books, currently are the ones I am going through - I'm reading Karl Ove Knausgård's My Struggle, I'm currently reading the third volume of what is a six-part series. His descriptions of the everyday and mundane are... shakes head... hypnotic. So that's my favorite book of the moment.

Yeah, the Kubrick script is - or will be - the raw material for what we're imagining will be a miniseries and we're currently in the process of finding a writer to flesh out and expand that raw material. It's in its preliminary stages, but the prospect of bringing it to life is exciting.

It's a dicey proposition either way.

But I'll go with the one Doakes-sized duck.

I can't imagine not being overwhelmed by 100 Doakes-ducks. At least I'd be able to keep my eyes on the one giant duck.

smiles

Hahaha!

No.

It's Louis.

nods

You're welcome, thank you for saying that!

There were moments leading up to... the Sugar Daddy number, and the audience participation that goes along with it, when I can clock certain audience members and try to suss out their willingness to be... participatory. But in the end, it's a game-time decision.

It's important to pick someone who is small enough to get both their arms off the armrest so I have someplace to put my feet.

It's preferable to pick a man because it fits better with the song, and the character, and tickles the audiences' funny bone better.

Once I "car-washed" a teenage boy, who turned to stone. But a couple days later, I received a couple dozen roses from his mother, thanking me for doing it.

So in her opinion, at least, he needed to be "car-washed."

VICTORIA NOTE: Michael demonstrates that car-washing is when Hedwig straddles someone whilst wearing a short fringe-y battery operated Christmas-tree-light-esque skirt and sort of teases it in someone's face

A dream.

He's someone I've always admired as an actor. And he brings such a genuine sense of joy, and play to his work, working with him on the 4th season of DEXTER is one of the collaborative highlights of my career.

I have to confess that I don't watch Game of Thrones.

But that said, if I played a character on Game of Thrones, I would want him to be a badass Gallagher - who'd have a giant mallet, and crush people's heads with it, instead of watermelons.

Oh shit, Victoria's informed me that that character's already taken. The Mountain.

I don't know. I've learned to never say never, so if they call, I'll take the call, and if nothing else, I'll tell them to put out the HD / Blu-ray version of SIX FEET UNDER.

clears throat

I'm reluctant to answer that definitively, because... I don't think your interpretation is necessarily invalid. It's subjective. Though I don't think the writers imagined that Dexter was dead, to be honest.

It's tough, because I fucked all three and killed one of them.

That being said... pondering... Fukc Lumen, Kill Lyla, Marry Hannah.

Though I'd really like to do all 3 to all 3.

It was challenging, inasmuch as we'd obviously gone through a lot. But ultimately, it was tremendously gratifying. The context of our relationship changed, but the relationship didn't end. And the fact that we were able to work together in a committed and intimate way and continue to tell a story that we both felt was worth telling meant a lot to both of us. We remain friends and I'm very thankful for that.

Whew!

Picking one movie is hard.

A list of my favorite movies would include...

• The Big Lebowski
• Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (original)
• and Tender Mercies

Not really.

Though some people have volunteered to be a victim! And when I met Morgan Freeman, he said "Congratulations on your whole life."

It was as if I were being invited to heaven by God himself!

No.

Though I've had dreams that blurred my own reality and Dexter's. I had a dream where I was at a beach house with my extended family and the doorbell kept ringing. I'd go to answer it, and little Chino would be there (one of Dexter's more formidable victims) and i had to kill him. And every time I returned to the table, the doorbell would ring again. And he'd be there again, and I'd have to kill him again.

It was tedious.

Well, it's applied by a duo of professionals.

It takes about 40-45 minutes.

Predominantly they use MAC products.

I don't know! I've always wanted to be able to fly. Someone who flies.

Thankfully, I feel like whenever I'm asked that question, my first impulse is to pick whatever it is I'm currently doing. Right now I'm loving acting onstage. The intimacy and immediacy of performing with a live audience is a singular sensation.

chuckles

"The finale sucked!"

1) I have some films that I'm attached to, that are in the works. So I haven't... fully committed to anything. It's hard to believe a movie is happening until it's actually happening. There are some other things I'm working to develop with some friends & former colleagues but I do think I need to force myself to take a break.

2) It's a triangle of ... takes off shoe & sock to look 21 triangles.

3) Her name is "Salamander" though... I usually call her "Sal" or "sal-sal."

4) Living out a rock & roll fantasy.

5) I do think about it. And I am aware that the life I've chosen would create some logistical hurdles if I were to have kids. We'll see!

6) I just answered that.

1) I feel the roles choose me, as much as I choose them. Though I do find myself drawn to... characters who are negotiating some sort of fundamental conflict or secret or trauma.

2) Christoph Waltz. Meryl Streep.

I don't know what Jack Nicholson experienced while playing the Joker.

My favorite scene in DEXTER is in the first season, 10th episode, when Dexter walks into the room filled with blood and does a face plant. Slip n' slide into the room! And my favorite scene on SIX FEET UNDER... would be... gosh, there are so many. I think of the end of the "That's my Dog" episode when David is doused in gasoline and has a gun shoved down his throat - not something I long to play every day but pretty intense. And the scene between Nate and David, in the room that Nate (after their father had died) discovered that his father kept - I think it's the sixth episode of the first season - it's called "The Room," that episode - I really love that scene.

It would be a toss-up for me between those 2 antagonists. The Ice Truck Killer, of course, is the most personal and intimate (given that he turns out to be Dexter's brother). But Trinity is the most formidable foe.

Dress up as a woman and sing rock songs.

Read.

Go to movies by myself in the middle of the day.

Walk the streets of New York.

Pet my dog.

Have sex.

OK, that's good.

I microwaved a frozen burrito last night when I got home from work.

Well, I was asked that and I said "living out a rock & roll fantasy" so I'll try to come up with something else. But it all comes back to that. Fronting the kickass band.

Just being the channel for this character and this music is... such a rush.

Well, lately, especially while I'm getting ready for the show, I listen to a lot of Kyuss, and Sloburn.

I kept Dexter's laminate ID, his watch, and his boots. That's it.

Silliness.

I'm very silly.

Hahahaha!

As far as the first one goes... ask Barry White.

My favorite DEXTER quote... it's probably Deb saying "I'd rather put out a campfire with my face."

Hello Raleigh!

Desmond's a very sweet man, and a huge heart.

Wait! So is C.S.! I don't mean to suggest that C.S. doesn't have a huge heart. They are both huge-hearted men. Truly.

And for some reason, I go back to when we shot on location in Miami and I... was just floating in that lagoon. I think it was for the top of the second episode. Dexter drifting in a lagoon, all his victims on the ocean floor beneath him... so tranquil.

sigh

I think playing Hedwig is probably better for my soul! That was pretty hilarious. I did fall that night, directly into the lap of the woman sitting in front. And...as I remember, planted a big kiss on her, and got on with the number. Thankfully, Hedwig is a show that welcomes a certain degree of chaos. As far as the heels go, I started wearing heels around the apartment before I even started rehearsing, and I rehearsed in a pair of heels that were actually HIGHER than the ones that I ultimately wear in the show. So when I put those on, it felt like I was wearing sneakers.

No, but I woke up one night in New York and was convinced that I saw a guy take a fatal blow to the head and called 911. And by the time the police showed up, he had sat up and looked like he was probably just really drunk. This was as a 20-something year old, not a child. The police immediately turned their high powered flashlights onto my apartment window. They were pissed that i dragged them up there, I guess. But I just kept the lights off and waited them out, thankfully they didn't come upstairs to admonish me.

I think that's the only time I ever called 911, thankfully.

I think that's true. I think both characters do have internalized father issues. And... Dexter is much more proactive than David. Dexter is less bound by his internal conflict. Or "bound" in a different way- in a way that doesn't keep him from being a real go-getter.

Hahahaha!

Well, we actually have the same voice, so I suppose I do all the time. But I don't imagine that Dexter is talking to me, haha!

smiles

Will I still be standing? That remains to be seen. I hope so.

The show is... a workout. Vocally, emotionally, cardiovascularly... I've definitely put my gym membership on hold.

I'm taking a break from marriage.

The best part about doing this is you can never tell what the future holds. Maybe?

I would have to go with...a perfectly ripe watermelon.

Definitely.

I would LOVE to properly record all this stuff, but I think that ship has sailed.

Mushroom and onion.

I don't know. I've definitely heard the uncensored version. I promise to find it and listen to it upon completion of this interview.

Yes, I would pick John. Because he's one of the greats. And Trinity was the most formidable foe Dexter ever faced, and John is as fundamentally kind as Trinity is effed up.

And thank you.

Though I think medicine and a certain combination of chemotherapy drugs beat my cancer. But I had to show up.

Dexter and I look a lot alike. And I do tend to talk to myself more than I'd like to admit.

Well, I guess I just admitted it.

My favorite food... Italian food.

Right now my shoes are actually off.

I'm wearing black socks.

The shoes are actually totally inappropriate for the winter weather. They're like a slip-on perforated leather loafer type deal.

I smell like... home. Like Teen Spirit.

shakes head

Just go with your gut.

Make sure you take a full lap before you commit. There are a lot of options in there.

I'd love to play a villain.

Villains are fun to play.

I did almost $1,000 of damage to the Slice of Life one time in a very unsuccessful and embarrassing attempt to try to dock it. It's on some blooper reel from the third season that circulated for a time.

Not very Dexter-ous...

Hahaha!

Selling knives was tough, because I had to hit up initially my mom's friends, and eventually strangers, to come into their house and do a lame shpiel about why their kitchen was inadequate. Though the job I hated more than that was working at a wholesale suit factory, trying to convince people who had no desire to buy a suit to buy a suit. I mean, the people who came there were only there because they had to be not because they wanted to buy suits. And marking alterations on the pants of an impatient non-clothes-loving person is no fun.

And it's a surprisingly vulnerable place to be, on your knees, ass adjacent. It's like shoeing a horse.

Definitely.

Well it sounds like I need to do that with Game of Thrones. I want to see somebody's head get squished by a Mountain-man.

Of course I do.

He knows jujitsu, he could probably pull off a submission hold, though I'd imagine he would do something more elegant. Heisenberg's a bad MF though.

Yes I did. I saw the first 2 seasons. The Kevin Spacey president thing? yeah.

Well, it wasn't real blood. The red liquid WAS real. The baby's mother was right beside the camera. And we did our best to make it feel like playtime.

Heehee.

Um... "I'll keep it with mine" by Bob Dylan.

I've done work with the Clean Water Alliance and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

ponders

It was more a sly smile.

My mother. smiles

I put the Kill Suit down and walked away.

I haven't though about it.

For Christmas I would like my dog to be less afraid of strangers, and more accepting of their eagerness to love her. Hahaha!

Dexter would have to be careful, if it came to a hand-to-hand combat. If Hannibal got his teeth close enough, he'd sink 'em right in.

I don't know. Maybe that could be the spinoff. Maybe Dexter could go find Hannibal and they could have it out. Call Anthony Hopkins!

My favorite Western... UNFORGIVEN, and BLAZING SADDLES!

Roast beef and swiss on rye with horseradish.

The cancer experience taught me that we can make room for anything, even things we never quite imagined.

It taught me to have a greater sense of gratitude for my life, and my health, and my blessings.

I decided to do Hedwig because... I was so compelled by the character and so excited to breathe life into her and to sing these incredible songs every night.

Well, I went to DisneyWorld when I was very young and my favorite ride was It's A Small World.

I haven't.

What makes me a human? The organization of my internal organs, my cardiovascular system, my need for sleep, opposable thumbs... and weirdest thing about me, oh man... I can't sleep without holding onto something, like a stuffed toy, or a dog, or a pillow in a pinch.

Not really.

It was a lot of fun, especially the moment where I got to freeze him with my mind. This was after 300, you understand, so to momentarily dominate Leontes was a rush. Of course, he ended up stabbing me in the heart, but it was fun while it lasted.

English is the only language I speak fluently. I could speak Restaurant Italian, there was a time I could converse in German but I've lost most of my vocabulary.

J.R. Ewing in DALLAS. And The Incredible Hulk.

No, I didn't.

That's a great question.

I was always enticed by the idea that we would find out that he knew something. But things never went in that direction.

chuckles

Jumped off the end of a pier in the outer banks of North Carolina and swam back to shore in the middle of the night. I think it was a good quarter mile pier. That was pretty stupid.

I think because we all have a shadow side of some sort, that we are required to sublimate.

And we live in a world in which we feel a loss of control, at times, and Dexter is someone who's taken control of his circumstances.

My favorite word... "sublime." "diaphanous." "fuck."

Least favorite: "We'll be right with you."

In a different way, yes. I think honestly that from the moment of her death forward, Dexter was reeling and he never quite recovered.

It was pretty awkward. Mostly I felt sorry for her.

I don't know. I'd love to see an extensive blooper reel.

Truly, I love them all. It varies from night to night. I love Tommy's "Wicked Little Town," I love "Origin of Love," "Midnight Radio" might take the cake.

I suppose I am.

Reconciling with our notion of the self or "accepting ourselves" is a fundamental journey, a spiritual one even.

I think it's what makes those 2 characters so relatable.

He's not. He's a sweetheart.

I was sad to see him go, and really missed the fun of the Dexter / Doakes relationship.

I saw it downtown at the Janestreet back in the late 90's. In its original production.

Hell no!

I use a gluestick.

It varies, but usually it's a game-time decision. I just try to intuit a person's willingness by their posture and expression.

No definitive plans, but for sure. I love acting onstage.