He built a career playing men who hide bodies and feelings, then kept doing both off-screen.
At a glance
- Known for
- Dexter Morgan on Showtime's Dexter, David Fisher on HBO's Six Feet Under
- Before fame
- Earned an MFA from NYU Tisch, then made his Broadway debut as the Emcee in Cabaret
- Off-screen
- Fronts a synth-pop band called Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum with Blondie's keyboardist
Rise to Fame
A Sam Mendes recommendation changed everything. After grinding through Shakespeare festivals and off-Broadway stages with no real screen credits, he landed the Emcee role in Mendes' Cabaret revival on Broadway in 1999. Mendes liked what he saw enough to suggest him for a new HBO drama about a repressed gay funeral director in a family of undertakers.
He showed up to Six Feet Under with one soap opera episode on his resume. Adam Scott auditioned for the same part and nearly quit acting after losing it. The show ran five seasons and picked up SAG ensemble wins in 2003 and 2004. His Emmy nomination came in the first year. The role that defined the next two decades of his career started because a theater director remembered his name.
In the Spotlight
The Dexter franchise won't stay dead, which feels appropriate. Dexter: Resurrection premiered in July 2025 and pulled 3.1 million viewers in three days, becoming Showtime's most-streamed premiere. It holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, got renewed for a second season, and picked up six Saturn Award nominations. Brian Cox joins the cast for Season 2, filming in New York starting April 2026.
He's been playing some version of Dexter Morgan for nearly twenty years. The original run earned him a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and five Emmy nominations without a single win. New Blood in 2021 averaged 8.2 million weekly viewers. The franchise keeps proving there's an audience for a likable serial killer, and he keeps proving he's the only one who can sell it.
Side Notes
Hodgkin lymphoma hit at 38, almost the exact age his father died of prostate cancer. He started chemotherapy the day after wrapping Dexter Season 4 and kept the diagnosis private until the Golden Globes forced his hand. He accepted the award in a knit cap over a bald head. That was January 2010.
The music career is the part nobody expects. He starred in David Bowie's musical Lazarus in 2015, playing the lead role Bowie originated on film. Bowie's last public appearance was opening night. He then formed Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum with Blondie keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen, making what they call "danceable apocalypse." Two albums in, a third coming in 2026. The guy America knows as a serial killer spends his weekends doing glam synth-pop.