Warning: The following contains spoilers for Dexter: Resurrections’ first two episodes, “A Beating Heart…” and “Camera Shy,” now streaming on Paramount+

Dexter: Resurrection is a welcome return for Michael C. Hall’s darkly compelling vigilante, a serial killer who does his best to target the worst dregs of humanity. It’s a passion that’s been passed down to his son Harrison, which fuels a lot of the dark energy of the franchise’s latest revival — with Bryan Lillis’s Ryan serving as a fitting first victim and subsequent conscience for Harrison.

Ryan is exactly the kind of scumbag a show like Dexter: Resurrection needs, and one that Lillis brings to life with a properly disgusting gusto. During an interview with TVBrittanyF, Dexter: Resurrection‘s Bryan Lillis reflected on the real-world influences that he brought to his villainous Ryan, developing his dark dynamic with Jack Alcott’s Harrison, and crossing a dream role project off his bucket list.

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TVBF: Congrats on Dexter: Resurrection! Coming into the show, did you know what kind of character you going to be playing?

Bryan Lillis: In the very beginning, when I got the audition, they said it was going to be three to four episodes. I didn’t really know the arc I would had. It was the elevator scene, so I knew [Ryan] was sleazy, but I didn’t know what happened to him. There was no revelation of this fight or anything, obviously. So I had an idea he was gonna be real slimy and like hinting that could end up on a table somehow [Laughter].

How do you get into the mindset for a scumbag character like this?

I tried to think of it like this — I’ve been in the entertainment industry for quite a bit of time now. So I try to think of the sleaziest people I’ve ever met, and try to draw from that. I’ve met some real-life people like that, unfortunately. I just tried to take little pieces from each one.

When we were on set, even before this fight, when [Marcos Siega and Clyde Phillips] and everyone was setting up this hotel room, they really wanted to push the envelope. They really wanted the audience to not like this guy, so they even did a couple of rewrite tweaks on the day. Just saying these things out loud and doing some of these things to really justify what Harrison did.

You need characters like this. If Harrison had killed someone while jaywalking, the complexity wouldn’t be there.

Right? The audience needs [characters like Ryan] to be as sick and twisted as they are. Americans are fans of the serial killer show, you know? I am too… I’ve been obsessed with the show since it came out; this has been a bucket list for me.

As a fan of Dexter, what was it like to jump into the series?

Like, getting that first episode and reading it as a fan of the show, it was just incredible. It was extremely fun… I asked Marcos and Scott, and I asked Jack about it too. What has it been like for them on the show, just even in past seasons? They all said, ‘Be thankful you’re not wrapped in plastic for this one.’

I was on a very cold table in a cold room, and I had to play a dead body and try not to shiver when they propped me up. They said the plastic is worse [Laughter]. They said it is so hot and they feel so bad because you’re wrapped in this plastic for sometimes seven to nine hours. It’s such a process to wrap you up — if you have to go to the bathroom, it’s a whole thing. They said it’s really claustrophobic and you’re pinned down.

Speaking of Jack, you really get to find a dynamic with him in your episodes. What was it like finding that energy on set with Jack?

Jack was the best scene partner ever. We got to meet each other back in December because I came into New York to do the body mold. So I worked with Dave Presto, and he did an incredible job. He worked on The Penguin, and he got nominated for an Oscar for A Different Man recently. His special effects stuff is just sick and unreal.

When I was in New York, Jack and I had to do stunt training together. We had to rehearse that fight scene and go through it all. The stunt guys, who are awesome and we really like, hit the ground running right away. We got to be real close, real quick. There’s nothing too much or too punishing for him. He was like, ‘Bring it!’ He loved it. As an actor, that’s a dream scene partner.

What was the biggest surprise you experienced during your time in Dexter: Resurrection?

Probably hearing some real-life testaments from different crew members about guys like Ryan. Hearing about how people like this get away with these things. That’s why Dexter is such an interesting show and why people are so drawn to this vigilante. He gets rid of bad people.

It surprised me that somebody can exist like this — that this kind of disgusting and gross can exist, and it’s not uncommon. I think that surprised me. Maybe that’s my innocence talking, but hearing different crew members’ testaments and stuff… I think it’s gonna really push some people’s buttons. It’s definitely gonna be a little bit of a trigger warning.

Dexter: Resurrection is now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime