The Oscar-winning director’s hidden love for Dexter finally comes to light.
It’s not exactly rare these days for celebrities to admit they’re fans of Dexter. Every time a new actor joins the cast of a season, it seems another well-known name reveals their admiration for the show. In recent months, stars like Christian Slater, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Uma Thurman, and Krysten Ritter have all mentioned their love for Dexter in interviews following their casting.
However, there are cases where some fans in Hollywood never publicly say a word about their appreciation, and that happens because there’s simply no reason for it to come up.
But sometimes, the truth slips out in unexpetced ways, like through a book. That’s exactly what happened with Quentin Tarantino, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and others.
While it might be tempting to think Tarantino’s connection to Dexter comes from his close friend and frequent collaborator Uma Thurman joining the cast of Dexter: Resurrection, that’s not actually the case. According to Jay Glennie’s newly released book, The Making of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the director has been a Dexter fan for at least seven years.
In one chapter detailing Margot Robbie’s 2018 audition for the film, Tarantino casually mentions his viewing habits during the session. As Robbie prepared to read for her role, Tarantino told her, “Take your time, as much as you need. I’ll be in the room next door watching Dexter.” Surprised, Robbie asked, “Dexter? The TV show?” to which Tarantino replied, “Yeah, yeah—I’m really into Dexter.”
The excerpt was shared online by Dexter: Resurrection executive producer and co-showrunner Scott Reynolds, who is famously a huge Tarantino fan himself. Reynolds posted two photos of the pages with strong excitement, admitting he “almost passed out” when he read them. He also revealed that watching Pulp Fiction back in 1994 was what inspired him to move from Michigan to Los Angeles to pursue writing, soemthing that eventually led him to work with Uma Thurman on Dexter: Resurrection.
“Okay, I about passed out when I read this… Tarantino, while waiting for Margot Robbie to read his magnum opus Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, was in the other room watching Dexter. Watching Pulp Fiction in ’94 made me decide to move to LA from Ypsilanti, MI to pursue writing,” Reynolds wrote.
Naturally, Dexter fans reacted with almost the same excitement. After all, learning that one of cinema’s most influential directors has been secretly obsessed with Dexter for years is far from a small thing. In fact, it should be considered another reminder of how much the show continues to be worth-watching.