Dexter: Original Sin's Christina Milian & Reno Wilson Dish On LaGuerta's Early Years And Harry Morgan's Friendships

America's favorite serial killer is back with Dexter: Original Sin, a prequel to the original series, which ran for eight seasons on the SHOWTIME network. Set in 1991, fifteen years before the start of Dexter, the new series features an all-new cast playing a mix of original characters and figures from the original series, including Patrick Gibson as the eponymous serial killer and Christian Slater as his adoptive father, Harry. Michael C. Hall returns as the voice of Dexter, who narrates the series and appears in the first episode, confirming his survival of the gunshot wound he suffered in the finale of Dexter: New Blood, and setting the stage for the upcoming Dexter: Resurrection.

Two actors new to Dexter: Original Sin are Reno Wilson and Christina Milian. Wilson stars as Bobby Watt, a new character who is Harry Morgan's longtime Miami PD partner and godfather to Dexter and his sister, Deb. Meanwhile, longtime Dexter fans will recognize Milian's character, Maria LaGuerta, who was played by Lauren Vélez in the original show.

ScreenRant interviewed Reno Wilson and Christina Milian about their work on Dexter: Original Sin. Milian spoke about LaGuerta's righteous and no-nonsense approach to policing and how it contrasts with her real-life personality. Meanwhile, Wilson shared his thoughts on Bobby's history with the Morgan family and the sweet afro he got to wear during the show's flashbacks to the early 1970s.

Christina Milian On Maria LaGuerta's Righteous Sense of Justice

"Let me tell you one thing about Maria. This girl is who she is from the very beginning"

ScreenRant: I am enamored with this show. It's so fantastic. It's a prequel, so there's a wonderful mix of irony and fear. Christina, your character is so righteous. She has such a sense of justice that fans of the show know gets her in trouble many years down the line. Tell me about playing the younger version of Maria and having that righteousness already baked into her.

Christina Milian: Oh, wow. Okay. So the irony is, I'm not much of the detective type! I'm such a free-spirited, like, flow with the wind, I'll get my answer sooner or later... But let me tell you one thing about Maria. This girl is who she is from the very beginning. That's how I feel. There are people that are like that. It's just ingrained in their soul. They're born that way. And I've learned that, as a mom just having kids, people are who they are from the day they're born. Seeing who she was as captain of the Miami Metro Department, she didn't just get there... It wasn't easy.

Reno Wilson: Yeah. It wasn't by accident.

Christina Milian: But you could tell from day one, it wasn't by accident. She's always worked towards this. This was her goal. And I feel like she has goals. She's hyper-focused. It's not even the goal of what the career set is going to be, but the goal of actually solving this crime. And of course, step by step, making her name heard, her voice heard, and really being a voice of the people. But it was exciting. I guess the irony of her being the young one, the youthful version of herself, it's not that different. But at the same time, she's learning. She's getting the experiences so that she can become who she is. Yeah? Is there irony in that? The irony is me doing it!

Reno Wilson: Well, the irony, yeah, that's the irony.

Christina Milian: You know, the rom-com girl! I'm usually in romantic comedies and things like that and making people giggle and stuff. So that's a little different.

Reno Wilson: Ain't nobody giggling from this one!

Christina Milian: It's a little different from the girl that you see me on social media and from the other films I do.

Reno Wilson: Ain't nobody giggling on Original Sin.

Christina Milian: Yeah, we're not giggling... unless I'm trying to make you giggle.

Reno Wilson On Playing A New Character, And His Sweet Flashback 'Fro

"We see Harry and Bobby in the 70s when they were these young narcotic detectives just "Starsky & Hutch-ing" it through the streets."

And Reno, the prequel-ness of your character is that you're not in the original show.

Reno Wilson: Right.

Which means either you're going to turn out to be a horrific killer or you're going to get killed by a horrific killer. Unless, of course, there's, like, a 10% chance that the show will end with you being like, "Well, I'm retiring. Goodbye."

Christina Milian: We've got some seasons to go.

Reno Wilson: We will see! We will see.

Can you tell me a little bit about your character and their relationship, in particular, to Harry?

Yeah. Bobby Watt's a great character. I'm really so thankful to be playing him. He really adds an aspect of family and support to the Morgan family that didn't really exist in the original series. In the original series, we just saw Harry, the flashbacks of him struggling with his son and fighting the urge and all that stuff. And it didn't really look like he had a support system around him. But in Dexter, our show, Original Sin, I'm Dexter and Debbie's godfather. I'm Harry's best friend. We see Harry and Bobby in the 70s when they were these young narcotic detectives just "Starsky & Hutch-ing" it through the streets, trying to make their names.

Christina Milian: So much style.

Reno Wilson: Yeah. And wearing the bell-bottom jeans.

Christina Milian: What a time!

Reno Wilson: You know I have my Afro.

Beautiful Afro!

Reno Wilson: Yeah, it was gorgeous, right?

Christina Milian: Two really cool eras you got to play out.

Reno Wilson: Yeah. When they put the Afro on the first time, I just had one tear just drop down my cheek.

It was seeing Sazh from Final Fantasy come to life!

Reno Wilson: Oh, wow. okay. He brought back... But no Chocobo! I didn't have no Chocobo in the Afro! It wasn't big enough! (Laughs) If you know, you know.

Oh, I know.

Reno Wilson: So Bobby serves as, like, when young Dexter starts working at Miami Metro, he has Uncle Bobby to greet him and, you know, to treat him like that young nephew that you have, just scruffing his head and giving him unadulterated love. And he does the same with Harry. And you'll see that throughout the series. He's Harry's sounding board. And yeah, those are some gaps that are being filled in our show that wasn't in the original.

More About Dexter: Original Sin Season 1

New Episodes Every Friday On Paramount+ With SHOWTIME

Set in 1991 Miami, DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN follows Dexter (Patrick Gibson) as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness. With the guidance of his father, Harry (Christian Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcement’s radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.

Check out our other Dexter: Original Sin interviews here:

Source: Screen Rant Plus