David Magidoff Talks ‘Dexter: New Blood’ and the Two Things That Surprised Him Most During Filming [Interview]

David Magidoff was surprised by two things when he began work on Dexter: New Blood: how cold the filming conditions were, and what Michael C. Hall was really like.

On this new iteration of Dexter, Magidoff plays Teddy Reed, a brand new law enforcement officer in the small town of Iron Lake. I recently spoke with Magidoff about his role on the series and what viewers can expect from Dexter: New Blood.

“It was a total delight and an honor to be a part of something that is so iconic and so familiar to so many people and is also its own new thing too. It’s a revival. It’s not a reboot, and it felt that way shooting it,” Magidoff began.

“You have so many old people a part of it like Clyde Phillips, our showrunner, and Marcos Siega, the director, and head writer Scott Reynolds. And they’re all so good at what they do. And you have new people like Sandy Bookstaver, who’s one of the new directors, and pretty much an entirely new cast, an entirely new town.”

“It’s fun to be a part of something that’s both familiar and nostalgic, as well as something new and forward-thinking.”

Dexter: New Blood is set ten years after we last saw Dexter Morgan, and he’s now living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake. For Magidoff, the premise of the revival is what sets it apart from other beloved series that have come back in recent years.

“You know [Dexter] and you know his past, but he’s in a place where nobody knows him,” he said. “That’s such a fun way, I think, to explore this character. I think that’s the extra special sauce on Dexter: New Blood, and literally the word is ‘new’ in the title. They wanted to do everything they could to not make it be called Dexter Season 9. They wanted it very much to be called Dexter: New Blood, because it’s not a continuation, but yet it’s still Dexter.”

“It’s fun to see that he’s still with people,” Magidoff said. “He’s interacting with people trying to have a good life. I mean, that’s the Dexter story. That’s why people loved him for eight seasons. He kept trying over and over again to be a good person. And with all the struggles that he has with his ‘Dark Passenger’ inside of him. So you’re still seeing him try to be a good person, he really wants to live a normal life, and I think we all want that. So that’s why we relate to him. That’s why this is a universal story. I think the serial killer stuff it’s just the icing on top.”

Magidoff also gave a few hints about what we can expect from his character, Teddy, throughout the season. 

“I think, literally, he’s had two and a half weeks on the force,” he said. “He’s eager. He’s happy to please, but he also feels like he’s a little bigger than his britches sometimes, and will maybe step on some toes. But he’s a good dude, he means well, and sometimes he actually does cool, helpful things that help out the force and he starts to show up.”

“You can tell that he’s on his way to being a good police officer,” he added.

Magidoff confirmed that his character interacts with Dexter quite a bit as well.

“[Dexter] sort of gets himself involved with the police because we know he is dating, at least from what the trailer is showing,” he said, noting that the trailer reveals Dexter to be in a relationship with Julia Jones’ character, Angela Bishop.

“She is the chief of police of this mighty three-man police department that Teddy is in. Teddy is definitely the third wheel of this police department.” 

It was working with Michael C. Hall that wound up being one of the biggest surprises of the entire experience for Magidoff.

“Somehow he got a reputation ahead of him that he was very polite and quiet and kept to himself,” Magidoff noted. “But then when I got there, we started chatting and I’m like ‘Oh my gosh, this guy and I have so much in common.’ And he’s kind, and he’s all those things, and he can be quiet, but he’s really funny — one of the funniest people I know. And he’s goofy at times and a little silly, and I don’t know if this is just the stage of his life or whatever, but I’m just so glad to have met him now.”

“When you have a guy like that as a number one on a show, you don’t see a lot of drama, and he’s someone who takes care of people and who’s thoughtful and kind, and he sets a tone,” Magidoff added.

“The other big surprise would just be the weather. I knew it would be cold, but, I didn’t know it’d be that cold,” he laughed.

“It was like nine degrees one day filming outside, and you’re like, ‘Wow,’ there was never a time at USC theater school where they’re like, ‘All right, let’s go outside now, and you’re going to have to act outside!’ Because even if we did do that, the coldest would be like 48 degrees. It’s something you learn on set. So how do you deliver a line and listen to people when your feet don’t feel like they’re a part of your body? And on top of it, there’s a giant lake that you’re next to, that’s frozen over, and the wind is blowing on that frozen lake towards your direction where it’s already below freezing.”

Magidoff said they also took full advantage of the cold and the snow, calling the filming very “authentic.”

“They’re really highlighting the snow and the blood,” he explained. “Because what looks so great on snow? Blood. Red blood. And so I think that is going to be kind of a theme, if you will.”

“They made this town, and this environment, and the weather a character,” he said. “It’s just like how they do it in Fargo. Fargo Season 1 has a lot of that too, especially. And I just think when you can get as many things involved without overtaking the story to play a part — who wouldn’t want all these beautiful trees and this beautiful wilderness? We shot in such beautiful places. We took over Shelburne Falls and they were happy to have us.”

Magidoff has more Dexter content coming our way outside of the series, too. He shared that his podcast, “Fanaddicts,” which he hosts with Clare Kramer, will have some special guests soon.

“We have on celebrities and we talk about their favorite things. So it’s the idea of, [you know] Tiffany Thiessen for Beverly Hills 90210, and Saved by the Bell, and White Collar. But what you don’t know is that she has 500 cookbooks.”

“And Tony Hale from Arrested Development, Mysterious Benedict Society, Toy Story. But what you don’t know about him is that he loves indoor malls” Magidoff said. “So we’re having everybody on from Dexter, starting with Michael C. Hall. I can’t tell you what his thing is yet, because it’s a good one.”

“We’re starting every episode out with a recap of the previous night’s episode. So it’s always going to drop every Monday, the day after the show, Dexter: New Blood drops. So the next day you get a recap from Teddy and my co-host Clare, and then a cast member gets to share something that they love.”

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Dexter: New Blood premieres Sunday, November 7th at 9/8c on Showtime.

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