Will Rita ever know of Dexter’s killer instinct?
In Showtime’s hit serial killer series “Dexter,” viewers watched Julie Benz’s timid Rita – Dex’s main squeeze – come out of her shell. She remained steadfast in helping Dexter with his, ahem, “addiction.” And booted his ass out when she found out he had something going on the side with Lila (firestarter Jaime Murray) – then she took him back. For the upcoming third season, “I’d like to see her move,” Benz laughs during a chat with Shock. “I’d like to move into Dexter’s apartment. Seriously, his apartment is pretty swank and Rita’s stuck in that run-down house. Maybe she could get a promotion at work, I’d like to see her go to work a little bit more.”
The actress is currently out promoting her latest feature turn in Rambo (opening January 25th). She’s using the current hiatus from “Dexter” to star in another actioner Punisher: War Zone.
Guess she grooves on guys who spill a lot of blood. Look at her history: Married to the Crypt Keeper John Kassir; career start – a miniscule part in Dario Argento’s “The Black Cat” episode of Two Evil Eyes; and she’s got a place in the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” universe as the vamp named Darla. “I am pretty lucky,” she says. “I’m like, ‘Wow,’ I’ve gotten to play two really great characters on television, which doesn’t always happen. You might get one in a lifetime of a career. I’ve gotten two and I just feel really blessed. I fought to be in ‘Dexter,’ I wanted to work for Showtime, I wanted to be in that show. I jumped through hoops to be on that show and I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
Benz isn’t clear on how the third season of “Dexter” will work around the sensitive WGA strike. “We wrapped production in October and aren’t scheduled to start filming again until May. It will start affecting us pretty soon because writers always go back way before we do to get scripts together.” Unless, of course, they began hashing out the storyline in the midst of season two. “I doubt it, they were just finishing up our season finale [at the time].”
Speaking in depth about her role, we inquire if she thinks Rita will ever learn of her boyfriend’s true secrets. “I don’t think she could handle knowing,” she ponders. “Rita is first and foremost a mother. I think at this point in her life, after years exposing her children to violence, doing it because she was unable to find the courage in herself to fight back and the fact that it was her daughter that made that final phone call, I think she’s finding the strength now to say ‘Never again.’ My feeling is that if she ever found out it would destroy her. I also don’t think she would ever believe him anyway. She sees the best in him. She’s still going to see the good in him, I think we all are when we’re in love, when we find a partner, we are so willing to see the best in people, we overlook things. That’s why you can say, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know my neighbor was a serial killer,’ you know what I mean? I think it’s human nature to try and [see the best].”
CBS will begin airing a toned-down version of “Dexter” season one on Sunday nights at 10pm beginning February 17th.
Source: Ryan Rotten, Kara Warner
