AUSTRALIAN actress Yvonne Strahovski will tap into her dark side when she appears in the upcoming season of hit US television program Dexter, due to launch its seventh season in the United Kingdom in late February.
Strahovski will join the popular drama series which stars Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall as a serial killer with a conscience targeting criminals that have avoided justice through the legal system. The Sydneysider will play the role of Hannah McKay, a woman with a troubled past that crosses paths with the program’s conflicted protagonist and forms an unusual bond with the unassuming murderer.
The dark nature of her Dexter character was something Strahovski enjoyed portraying on screen, looking to her fellow cast members as examples of how to successfully interpret a character with often unclear and twisted motivations. She joins the cast as a woman who was detained in a juvenile detention facility at the age of 15 after she and her boyfriend went on a killing spree across America. Strahovski’s character is contacted by the police in order to assist in finding the bodies of her ex-boyfriend’s victims, putting her on a collision course with Michael C. Hall’s iconic serial killer character.
Strahovski told Australian Times: “It’s great to be able to play different types of characters. Hannah is definitely a darker character for me than some of my other roles, and Michael C. Hall was a great inspiration in how to play a character that is dark but still likable. He has the ability to change the dynamic where the audience is rooting for the serial killer to win.”
Strahovski, a graduate of the University of Western Sydney, started in the Australian entertainment industry by taking on small roles in local dramas before moving to the United States of America and landing a role in the NBC spy-comedy Chuck. The show quickly attracted a cult following, with Strahovski’s character CIA Agent Sarah Walker appearing throughout Chuck’s five-year run.
Strahovski said: “When I got the role on Chuck everything happened so fast, it was like a steam train that didn’t stop. I was thrown into the deep end and didn’t know what to expect. I remember when I got my first fan mail I was so shocked. Chuck grew an enormously dedicated fan base… We were on the bubble constantly, but the fans stood by us and I am honoured by their dedication.”
The actress said that she was a fan of Dexter prior to taking on the role of Hannah McKay, watching all of the six previous seasons back-to-back before starting filming. She told Australian Times that working with the show’s cast and crew was an enjoyable experience and that she was thrilled to work on what is expected to be the award-winning program’s penultimate season.
She said: “Being on Dexter is one of my favourite things that I have ever done and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work with such a professional cast and crew. Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter are amazing actors, the set was very chilled out and I had a blast working with everyone on the show.”
After a 2011 season that received lacklustre reviews, critics have praised Dexter as having returned to form in the upcoming season which screened in the United States of America in late 2012. Strahovski said that, while she had not read any reviews, the public response to her role on Dexter had been positive.
Strahovski recently returned to Australia to film I, Frankenstein in Melbourne with British actor Bill Nighy. The film explores how classic horror character Frankenstein’s monster would act in a modern setting, with Strahovski playing a scientist working in the laboratory run by Nighy. Since relocating to the US, Strahovski has returned to her home country four times to work on film projects and said that she appreciated opportunities to return to Australia for work.
Strahovski said: “It is always wonderful to come back to Australia, it is my home and I miss it. Any chance I get to have days off is great because I get to visit my old stomping grounds.”
The seventh season of Dexter will premiere on Fox on Sunday 24 February at 9pm. Strahovski’s film I, Frankenstein will be released in the US on 13 September.