TheInsider.com: Were you a fan of Dexter before joining the show?
Josh Cooke: I was a huge fan from day one. It's such a great concept, and this odd take on the vigilante-hero character. My sister is actually one of the show's biggest fans, so I think my presence on Dexter has kind of caused some viewing problems in her reality [laughs].
Insider.com: So when you saw that Louis was going to start messing with Dexter's life, did you open every script expecting to read your death scene?
Josh: [laughs] When he started developing this creepy fascination with Dexter, and injecting himself into Dexter's life, I knew that it couldn't end well. But the one thing I've learned from working on Dexter is that you really have no idea what they're going to do week to week. The writers have a history of completely turning the tables on you. They could suddenly tell you that your character is actually an alien from Mars, and you'd have to be like, "OK!". Read the rest after the jump...
Insider.com: You even survived, what I assumed was Louis' final scene, last week!
Josh: [laughs] Indeed! It definitely didn't look good for me on page 30. There were all these themes of redemption going on, so I kinda felt like it might be the end for Louis. But I lived. And the aftermath of that makes for a very interesting episode.
Insider.com: What do you like about Louis?
Josh: I thought it was an interesting take on an adversary for Dexter. Doakes was such a physically intimidating and threatening person, but Louis is this seemingly sweet guy, who is obviously not physically intimidating but is so intelligent and so skilled with computers he presents a different kind of threat to Dexter. The word I hear most from fans is that I'm "creepy." This season, when I saw Louis taking this sharp turn after Dexter wouldn't help with his video game, I knew it was going to get interesting. This is someone who does not deal well with rejection and it's clear from his past with Bob Henley that Louis will do anything for his own advancement. He's a disturbed person who doesn't think rationally. The way Dexter sees red, I think Louis does too – just in a slightly less homicidal way.
Insider.com: What can you say about Sunday's episode. Obviously Louis isn't going to heed Dexter's threat...
Josh: It's a big episode for Louis. There's a major turning point for the character. It also led me to this interesting discovery that Louis is so self-centered, it doesn't actually register that he's in danger. And if it does register, that doesn't necessarily translate into him wanting to escape that situation. It makes him want to appear stronger and more dangerous. That's why he showed up at Dexter's apartment later, puffing his chest out, trying to act big. That kind of arrogance is not a healthy thing to have around Dexter. Now, having escaped death from him, I'm a target in other ways.