MONDO EXTRAS

Benz: Oh, thank you!

Mr. S: I'm sorry I didn't get to congratulate you until now, but you know...maybe if you returned some of my messages...

Benz: Yeah, my number changed.

Mr. S: Yeah, okay. Whatever. So, yeah, let's just get started. So, what was it that drew you to Dexter in the first place? I don't remember seeing you on Oz, so how did you get the gig?

Benz: [giggles] No, you know what? They sent me the script and I read it and it's the type of material that I love to read, and I knew it was going to be the type of show that, as an audience member, I love to watch. I love the whole moral ambiguity about it, and how you just find yourself rooting for this guy who's, you know, a serial killer. It really calls into question your own moral code. And that really...that kind of dark element really attracted me to the script.

Mr. S: I'll bet. Definitely one of my favorite aspects of the show is the moral ambiguity that you just mentioned, you know, how --

Benz: I think, you know, that...I mean, I love watching television, I'm a big fan of television, but I don't like shows that tell me how to think.

Mr. S: Right.

Benz: You know, I don't like being manipulated into having...I mean, there are a lot of shows that do kind of do that, but I like to be mentally stimulated and challenged when I watch TV, and I think Dexter really challenges you.

Mr. S: Absolutely. I could not agree more. It's also pretty clear that Dexter has become of Showtime's flagship shows, and it's a great example of how the network is stepping up its game in terms of original programming. Did you know as soon as you joined the cast, or even beforehand, that it was going to as...I guess, sort of, important as it is?

Benz: Well, I've been a fan of Bob Greenblatt's for a long time, and when he took over Showtime, I was very excited. I think he's a brilliant man, you know, as far as picking programming and the shows that he has ushered through. I was a big fan of Six Feet Under, which was his show, so yeah. I thought it was going to be good, I really did, from day one. I really did think it was going to be as big as it is. But, then again, I think that about a lot of shows.