Christian slater’s favorite role? A good father | members only

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, actor Christian Slater, 55, was at the peak of his career, with _Heathers_, _Broken Arrow_, _Interview with the Vampire_ and _True Romance_. For his next project, he’s

headed back to the ‘90s by playing Harry Morgan, the adoptive father of vigilante serial killer Dexter Morgan, in _Dexter: Original Sin_, on both Paramount+ with Showtime and Showtime. The

series, which is set in 1991 — 15 years prior to the timeline for the Emmy-winning series _Dexter_ — explores the complicated relationship between son and father. “It's certainly fun to

dance around different decades,” Slater says. “You get further detail into what Harry's backstory was and what his journey was.” Slater talked with AARP about the joys of getting

older, the lessons learned and the only role he’s really striving for — and that he already has. _This interview has been edited for length and clarity._ YOU MENTIONED BEING A FAN OF THE

ORIGINAL _DEXTER_ SERIES. IS THERE PRESSURE TO LIVE UP TO IT? It’s very exciting because I was such a huge fan of the show, and the fact that the original writers and producers and

showrunners were all coming back to make this show, I felt very safe. And also, the director was Michael Lehmann, who I'd worked with before — [about] 35 years ago, he directed

_Heathers_. So I had a lot going into this that helped to make me feel more secure. CAN VIEWERS JOIN IT IF THEY HAVEN’T WATCHED THE ORIGINAL? The original is a great show. This is, if

anything, the foundation for that show. So you could easily start your _Dexter _world with our show. This is the beginning when he really does start to develop the skills that he later uses

as he gets older, 15 years in the future. So I think it's definitely a worthy story to be told. These are all very interesting characters to get to know initially, and everybody

involved in it is great. [Patrick] Gibson [who plays the young Dexter] does an amazing job, and they're tough shoes to fill. [Michael C. Hall was the original _Dexter_, and he also

narrates the new series as Gibson’s inner voice.] Christian Slater, right, as Harry Morgan and Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan in "Dexter: Original Sin." Patrick

Wymore/Paramount+/SHOWTIME THE SHOW HAS A ’90S VIBE TO IT. IS THAT FUN? Oh, that was a blast. It's certainly fun to dance around different decades, and you get further detail into what

Harry's backstory was and what his journey was. The original show, as much as I loved it and as much of a huge fan I am of James Remar [who played Harry Morgan in the original series],

you got little glimpses of who Harry was, [but] you really didn't get to know him all that well. I always felt like he was an interesting character to examine a little bit further. To

get into his backstory was very exciting. He's got a lot of trauma of his own that he's dealing with — a lot of remorse, a lot of guilt, a lot of shame — and he's got

unconditional love for this young man, Dexter.