Warning: this story contains spoilers for Dexter: Resurrection Season 2, Episode 3. Read at your own risk!
Gabriel Luna is in the Dexter record books following guest turn as Ray Ballard, aka the Sleepy-Eyed Stranger. “Apparently I set a record for time on the table,” he reveals to Gold Derby. “That’s over 20 years, so it’s truly saying something. It is an iconic image.”
After Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) failed to track down Ray by himself, he had to team up with Charley Brown (Uma Thurman) this week. Together, they captured the Sleepy-Eyed Stranger before he could kill his latest victim. Per tradition, Dexter wrapped the baddie in plastic and put him on his kill table, but before stabbing him in the heart, he opened up to Charley about why he does what he does. Ray then pleaded with Dexter — not for his “life,” but for an “understanding,” Luna tells us — all while the clock kept ticking.
“I found it to be rather comfortable,” Luna says of lying on his back throughout the entire sequence. The actor had “snacks and drinks,” plus “a nice comfy pillow,” so he didn’t need the crew members to remove the plastic after every shot. “I’m a team player. I’m just there to do the work,” he says.
Luna has been an admirer of the franchise ever since meeting John Lithgow on a red carpet around 2011. After he posted a photo with Lithgow on social media, Luna recalls fans telling him, “Oh my God, you’re with the Trinity Killer.” He didn’t know what they meant at the time, but he soon found out. He is now “honored to be part of this pantheon of great men and women” who have guest-starred on Dexter, he declares.
Also in our postmortem interview, Luna explains how he got into the serial-killer mindset, and what it was like working with “brilliant” scene partners like Hall and Thurman.
Gold Derby: How much did you know about the Dexter franchise before signing up for Dexter: Resurrection?
Gabriel Luna: I knew that it was historic in its longevity and its popularity. I watched several seasons of it after I moved to Los Angeles. I did a picture with Richard Linklater called Bernie, moved to L.A., and then a few months later there was the premiere at L.A. Live, and it was my only movie premiere for a couple of years. Whilst on that red carpet, I met John Lithgow and there were some pictures taken of us together. I posted on Facebook, “Hey, look at me with Harry from Harry and the Hendersons and 3rd Rock from the Sun.” But then there was just this scroll of people saying, “Oh my God, you’re with the Trinity Killer.” And I didn’t know what that was.
Then I realized they were referencing Dexter, so I went back and watched that season. I was hooked. I’ve been watching since that season, and now, all these years later, I find myself part of that great fraternity. I’m honored to be part of this pantheon of great men and women who’ve played these characters.
What was it like playing a serial killer? How did you get into that mindset?
First and foremost, Marcos Siega, who directed The Terminal List and is an executive producer on Dexter, brought me in and offered me the part. I usually steer clear of roles like this. I always like to play the hero in the white hat, but this character was too good, and with too good of an opponent to pass up. Going tête-à-tête with Dexter himself was a big draw. Once I got into it and realized this was the nature of the character, I had to figure out how to make sense of it all. How do you find his reasoning and the seed of his purpose? I went back to the research I’d done on John Wayne Gacy for Devil in Disguise, and I had also done adjacent research when I did Terminator: Dark Fate on Ted Bundy.
What I found is that, in these cases, it always seems to be rooted in abuse, often inflicted by someone who’s supposed to be your protector and care for you. I started developing the idea that he was beaten down, abused, or abandoned at that stage in his life, and was never able to advance past that point. He was stuck there mentally. To him, that was proof that people are bad, inherently violent, and are always going to hurt you. He thinks he’s giving them a gift, liberating them from pain, and untethering them from people who are only going to cause them turmoil. That’s where it came from. He’s a grown man, but he’s always annoyed with the world and lashes out in a very young, preteen way. He’s there to show Prater [Peter Dinklage’s villain in Season 1], his “dad,” his show-and-tell project. Prater is the only person I think he even talks to. I developed how he got to that point of isolation and the God delusion he develops, which is truly just cowardice in disguise, killing people without them ever seeing him. That’s how it ultimately took shape.
In addition to working with Michael C. Hall, you also got to share the screen with Uma Thurman. What was she like when the cameras weren’t rolling?
I’ve been in love with Uma and her work since The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, as she emerges from the shell. I remember doing our scene at the dinner table and I’m sitting there, staring at Uma Thurman, trying to intimidate her. [Laughs.] I thought, “How am I going to do that?” But it was a great gift to work with her. And Michael C., whom I love, has been amazing in this character for 20 years.
People always ask why they identify with Michael as this character. He’s a killer, but people seem to love him. I attribute that to how brilliant he is, how musical his voice is, and how we get to spend so much time with him in his head in all these voiceovers. I saw the beautiful sense of calm he brings to a set, and the assuredness and mastery of this character — even as he keeps finding new things. It’s like he’s building the Sagrada Família of characters. It’s never done; he’s always adding something to it. They’re both brilliant, and I was really happy to get to work with him.
What was going through your head as you were lying there covered in plastic?
For me, it was just, “Take this all in.” I found it to be rather comfortable. Between setups, they would ask, “You want us to take you off, Gabe?” I realized how much of a deal that was each time for the props department or set dec, and I thought, “I’m a team player, man.” I’m just there to do the work. If I’m comfortable lying here on this slab, with my snacks and drinks being flown in, and a nice comfy pillow, then let’s just stay here.
As a result, apparently I set a record for time on the table, according to Scott Reynolds, our EP. That’s over 20 years, so it’s truly saying something. It is an iconic image. Everybody who knows I’m on the show asks me, “What was it like being on the table?” It was a cool experience to verbally joust with Dexter while being in the most vulnerable position you can be, with no power, but trying to make my case. I love that scene. It wasn’t a plea for my life; it was a plea for understanding. That was fun to play, especially with a scene partner like Michael C.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
