Julia Stiles Discusses Her Killer Scenes In ‘Dexter’

Emmy nominated actress Julia Stiles has shown fans a different side of herself with her recent guest arc on Showtime’s Dexter, and the same goes with a recent interview the Bourne actress sat down for. 

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Stiles’ response to questions about her dark character Lumen, going into the series with few details about her alter ego, and those gruesome murder scenes was interesting.

“I actually knew very little,” Julia shared about her entrance into the world of serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall).  “I met with producer John Goldwyn, and he gave me the broad strokes about what the arc of the character would be. I did ask if I would end up killing anyone, and he said yes. At that point, I decided to do it. He told me that when you meet her for the first time, she’s been victimized. I was more interested in how she would become more active. The revenge part of it is what intrigued me.”

The thirty-year old Stiles also admits that playing Dexter’s partner in a ten episode arc in the series affected her life off of the set of the show. “I never think of myself as an actor who takes work home with them, but I was surprised, especially toward the end of the season — around episode 10 — when some of the details of what Lumen had experienced became really harrowing, and I started to realize that it was affecting me outside of work. One scene in particular, in episode 10, when the detectives have found DVDs showing what has happened to the victims — it was really dark. It made it more difficult for me to sleep.”  Read more