Julia Stiles: "I was very surprised that Dexter and Lumen broke up"


LA Times had a chance to interview Julia Stiles, who starred as Lumen in Dexter Season 5. The Emmy-nominated actress admitted that she didn't take Dexter and Lumen's break-up well, since she was expecting for their relationship to last longer.

So … Lumen breaking up with Dexter caught you off guard?
J.S.: I was very surprised. I thought everything we had been building toward over the course of the season -- the trust and connection between Lumen and Dexter -- was just thrown away. I had a hard time understanding that. Their vigilante justice was so romantic in a perverse way.

Read the rest after the jump...
Did you raise your hand and say anything?
J.S.: It’s not my job to critique the writing. I’m there to serve it. I had to figure out a way to make it work.
Well, Dexter did throw a plate at her …
J.S.: That was a big part of it. That confirmed her worst fears about his anger. It kind of sealed the deal and snapped her back to reality where she realized that what they were doing was pretty … um … bizarre.
How much did they tell you about Lumen’s arc before you signed on?
J.S.: They told me the broad strokes of what would happen over the season. I asked them: “Do I get to kill someone?” And they said, “Yes.” And I said, “OK, I’m on board.”
Because what’s a guest spot on “Dexter” without a visit to the kill room?
J.S.: Honestly, I thought Lumen would wind up dead because every guest gets murdered in the end. But it wasn’t about just getting to kill someone. That’s a trite way of saying it. It was about being inside Dexter’s secret world as opposed to outside of it.
So what’s the kill room like?

J.S.:It’s pretty exhilarating, partially because of the history of the show. There’s a kind of sacredness to the way that they’re filmed. Everyone’s very much on alert because of the safety issues, but, yeah, that tradition … I felt privileged to be a part of it. And then performing it, you get to play out things in your imagination that you’re not allowed to do. That was special to me.
Not that you have a particular urge to kill people …
J.S.:(Laughs) No! But emotions like hate or anger or revenge, all the stuff you have to repress in civilized society.
Theoretically, Lumen could still come back next season.
J.S.: I … uh … Honestly, I have no idea. That’s out of my jurisdiction.
She’s out there somewhere. And she has secrets. Terrible secrets. She could star in a pretty interesting show of her very own.
J.S.: I guess the whole thing within the “Dexter” logic was that her dark cloud had lifted. She satisfied her need for vengeance, so she didn’t have that urge anymore. So if you follow that logic, if she did have her own show, it might be really boring.
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

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  1. I hope Lumen comes back :( maybe season 7?

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  2. Bring Lumen back! I really liked the Dexter-Lumen Killer inc.

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  3. Didnt I read this interview 6 months ago? And a week after that. And a week after that. And a week after that.

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  4. I want Lumen back, I really do. But not anytime before season 7.

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  5. her urge will come back when she see a girl who has the same experience as she did...

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  6. At it's best, the show is a dark comedy, and there was something bizarrely funny about Lumen mimicking Dexter's kill clothes. But honestly, Lumen is above all things a survivor and second a runaway bride. I could see her falling in love with Dexter and romanticizing what they were doing, and I could see her snap out of it and leave. Even if he wasn't a psychokiller, he'd be a widower with a baby and ongoing long distance relationship with his stepkids. That's a lot of baggage.

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  7. Personally I enjoyed season 5. They, again, took Dexter on a path he had never been on before. The story was original and kept me interested. Was it the best? No. But I still loved it. It was a beautiful exhale from the shock of season 4's finale. I did like the Lumen character and all but I she should stay where she belongs. In season 5. Period. There is NO point in bringing her back, and they won't. Scott Buck has said as well as Michael C Hall that Dexter is pretty much done with trying to have love in his life. He realizes with what he is and what he does that is basically impossible and only leads to trouble. I can't think of one good reason for them to revisit the Lumen Character. Not at all.

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  8. One good reason would be for a happy ending, obviously.. not saying there has to be one or that there cant be one without Lumen.

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  9. I had issues with Season 5 but they were more with the quality of the dialogue and the uncharacteristic, throw-away loose ends. I had no issue with Lumen, thought that storyline was fantastic. But she needed to exit for Dexter to live on as a show.

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