Dexter: Original Sin actors on playing the young Batista and Masuka

The crime drama series Dexter originally aired on Showtime for eight seasons, from 2006 to 2013, then it was revived with a season called Dexter: New Blood in 2021, and now a prequel series called Dexter: Original Sin is airing on Showtime and the Paramount+ streaming service. Since the show takes place 15 years before the original show, it required a new cast to bring younger versions of the Dexter characters to life – and during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actors James Martinez and Alex Shimizu revealed what it was like to take on the roles of Detective Angel Batista and forensics expert Vince Masuka.

Martinez follows in the footsteps of David Zayas to play Batista, and he told The Hollywood Reporter that he and Zayas knew each other from the New York theater community before he got the job on Dexter: Original Sin. “I’ve always been a fan of his stage work. I had a sense of who he was already and he has a lot of similarities as Batista. So when you talk to him and you get to know him, you really get who Angel is at his core and that to me was the most important part. He said that Angel doesn’t have a cynical bone in his body, which was something I could really hold onto and run with. He just has a really optimistic attitude towards life, work and love, and he leads with his heart. Looking like him was important; capturing his mannerisms and his physicality. But capturing that was more important, who he was at his core, and meeting him helped me do that.“

Shimizu wasn’t familiar with Dexter when the chance to play Masuka came his way, so he binged the original series, watched a bunch of clips of C.S. Lee’s performance as Masuka on the show, and then reached out to the actor… and ended up partying with him. “I was able to slide into C.S. Lee’s DMs and party with him a little bit, talk with him, and he’s been super supportive and cool. He’s helped me to have an even deeper understanding of Masuka. … We went to Intercrew in Koreatown and he gave me so much great advice on the character, mainly that despite all his antics and bizarre behavior and his wild jokes, he’s coming from a place of wanting to connect with people and make friends. I always knew that Masuka deep down is a good guy. He means well despite everything. He has a slacker quality to him, but he’s very good at his job. But not only was he very great about letting me know about the character and giving me insight, C.S. also let me know about being an actor in Hollywood, about being an Asian American actor in Hollywood, and just wanting the best for me, which he didn’t have to do. So I was very supportive and grateful for all of his help. (Masuka is) so out there. He’s so bold and crazy and at the same time has such a big heart. He’s like a slacker Asian character, which is very rare to play in Hollywood. I just loved it.“

Dexter: Original Sin follows Dexter in 1991 Miami, as a student transitioning into a serial killer in training. When his bloodthirsty urges can no longer be ignored, Dexter finds solace and understanding in Harry. As his only confidant, he teaches Dexter a Code that’s designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to die—all while avoiding getting caught by law enforcement. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.

Played by Michael C. Hall in the nine seasons of Dexter, the title character is “a serial killer with a code which directs his compulsions to kill only the guilty. As a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police, he has access to crime scenes, picking up clues and checking DNA to confirm a target’s guilt before he kills them.“ Hall will be narrating this prequel series.

This was given away in the marketing, but Hall is able to narrate the show because Dexter has survived the last moments of Dexter: New Blood, paving the way for the upcoming sequel series Dexter: Resurrection. Showrunner Clyde Phillips has said that Dexter: Resurrection will premiere in June of 2025 – and the hope is that Dexter: Resurrection and Dexter: Original Sin will both receive multiple seasons, with a season of one being followed closely by a season of the other, keeping different versions of Dexter on Showtime throughout the year.

While Martinez and Shimizu will be playing Batista and Masuka on Dexter: Original Sin, they’re hoping to see Zayas and Lee reprise the roles on Dexter: Resurrection. Martinez said, “With Resurrection, I can’t imagine the heartbreak that we’re going to see for Angel, the sense of treachery (when he realizes Dexter is a killer). It brings a tear to my eye because I know David and I can imagine him playing that revelation of who Dexter is and ‘wow, this guy is not who I thought he was.’ He leads with his heart so the pain he’s going to feel, I’m gonna watch for sure.“

Shimizu added, “I’d love to see C.S. back for Resurrection. If they need an eye [of someone] who knew Dexter from way back when when he worked at forensics just a few feet away, Masuka is your guy.“

What do you think of the work James Martinez and Alex Shimizu are doing as Detective Angel Batista and forensics expert Vince Masuka on Dexter: Original Sin? Let us know by leaving a comment below.