Michael C. Hall
Dexter Morgan (formerly Dexter Moser) is the main character and narrator of the series. Dexter is a forensics expert and blood spatter analyst employed by the Miami Metro Police Department, but has a double life as a serial killer. As a young boy, he and his older brother Brian witnessed their mother's murder and were left in a freighter cargo box filled with blood for days. The incident left them both psychologically scarred for life and soon after Dexter was adopted by Harry Morgan. Initially Harry was hoping to simply repress or discourage it, but soon realized Dexter had an insatiable urge to kill that would only get stronger. Harry, frustrated with the amount of killers who use and abuse the justice system and continue to escape to continue their killings, decided instead to train Dexter as a serial killer that only targeted and expertly dispatched other killers. Dexter Morgan considers himself emotionally divorced from the rest of humanity; in his narration, he often refers to "humans" as if he is not one of them. Dexter makes frequent references to an internal feeling of emptiness, leading to many youthful attempts to "feel alive". Dexter claims to have no feelings or conscience and that all of his emotional responses are part of a well-rehearsed act to conceal his true nature. In the first season of the television series he had no interest in romance or sex; this changed when he became involved with Lila in Season 2. Initially he considered his relationship with Rita to be part of his "disguise". However, by the end of the fourth season, Dexter has fully evolved into a family man that wishes to rid himself of his "Dark Passenger". He also grows a conscience, as he says "How is it I can show no remorse for killing a man, but feel like the scum of the Earth for having her pick me up at the police station," referring to Rita. There are flaws in Dexter's emotional armor, however. He acknowledges loyalty to family, particularly his dead adoptive father: "If I were capable of love, how I would have loved Harry." Since Harry's death, Dexter's only family is his sister, Debra Morgan, Harry's biological daughter. At the end of the first novel, Dexter admits that he cannot hurt Debra or allow Brian to harm her because he is "fond of her".Dexter likes children, finding them to be much more interesting than their parents. The flip side of this affection is that Dexter is particularly wrathful when his victims prey on children. In the book Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter realizes that Rita's son Cody is showing the same signs of sociopathy as Dexter himself did at that age, and looks forward to providing the boy with "guidance" similar to that which Harry provided him; in his way, he sees Cody as his own son. (This theme of Cody's perceived sociopathy has not been expressed in the television series.) This also gives him a reason to continue his relationship with Rita who, as of Dearly Devoted Dexter, he is engaged to because of a misunderstanding. In the beginning of the third book,Dexter in the Dark, it has been shown that Cody is not the only one with dark impulses, as both children pressure Dexter to teach them. Dexter has come to accept his role as stepfather to both children very seriously in Dexter in the Dark, albeit in his typical fashion. For example, while on a stakeout, he begins to wonder if Cody had brushed his teeth before bed and if Astor had set out her Easter dress for photo-day at her school. These thoughts distract him while he is waiting for an intended victim, which thoroughly annoys him. In the TV series, Dexter also takes a detour in his code of only killing murderers in order to dispose of a pedophile who is stalking Astor. Animals do not like Dexter, which can cause noise problems when Dexter stalks a victim who has pets. He is quoted as having once had a dog who barked and growled at Dexter until he was forced to get rid of it, and a turtle, which hid in its shell until it died of starvation rather than have to deal with Dexter.
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