{"id":104812,"date":"2025-08-29T17:54:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/104812\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T17:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:54:10","slug":"dexter-resurrection-kills-angel-batista-david-zayas-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/104812\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Kills Angel Batista: David Zayas Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t[This story contains major spoilers from Dexter<\/a>: Resurrection season one, episode nine, \u201cTouched By An \u00c1ngel.\u201d]
Another longtime\u00a0Dexter\u00a0character finally knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that Dexter Morgan and the Bay Harbor Butcher are one and the same. Unfortunately, that same character is no longer alive to enjoy the bragging rights.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlas, as of the latest\u00a0Dexter: Resurrection<\/a>\u00a0episode, it\u2019s an official wrap on David Zayas, who has starred in the Dexter franchise<\/a> as sharp-dressed detective Angel Batista <\/a>since the very beginning. The one man truly on Dexter\u2019s tail all season long<\/a>, Angel finally met his maker in the aptly titled \u201cTouched by an Angel,\u201d in which the character winds up on the wrong side of Dexter\u2019s killing table.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it\u2019s not Dexter who kills Angel. Angel\u2019s death comes about as he seeks an unlikely ally in Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage), the \u00fcber-rich philanthropist with an apparent connection to Dexter. Angel miscalculates, however, not realizing Prater is a serial killer obsessive, and wants to bankroll Dexter\u2019s future operations as the Bay Harbor Butcher, with just one catch: Dexter has to kill Angel to get him off the scent. Dexter arrives in a makeshift killing room with Angel strapped to a gurney by Prater and his stooge Charley (Uma Thurman), but instead of plunging the knife into his old friend, Dexter releases Angel, thinking they might join forces against Prater in this dark hour.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut that\u2019s not how it goes. Instead, Angel sees red, lifts off the table and tries to choke the life out of Dexter, summoning the ghosts of his old friends who died because of Dexter\u2019s actions. It\u2019s the perfect set up for Prater to shoot Angel in the back, riddling him with bullets before running away with Charley. Dexter tries to tell a dying Angel that, yes, he\u00a0is\u00a0the Bay Harbor Butcher, but he didn\u2019t kill Angel\u2019s ex-wife Maria or ex-partner Doakes. Angel doesn\u2019t care; even if Dexter didn\u2019t wield the murder weapon against them, his very nature as the Bay Harbor Butcher is why they died. With one last unflinching look at his old colleague turned final nemesis, Angel utters his dying words: \u201cDexter Morgan\u2026 fuck you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, Zayas joins\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter\u00a0to break down that deadly final moment and to look back on his extensive run playing one of Miami\u2019s finest for nearly two full decades.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tDavid, what a bummer!<\/p>\n

Yeah, well, hey. It\u2019s great TV, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a heck of an ending for a character you\u2019ve played for 20 years now, signing off with some iconic final words.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s it, man. That\u2019s A to Z right there. As we both know, though, you don\u2019t have to be alive to be on this show. There are some characters who have\u00a0never\u00a0been alive on this show! So, I always have hope!<\/p>\n

\n\tA literal angel Batista?<\/p>\n

Never say never. (Laughs.) I\u2019m always open to new ideas.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen you signed on for\u00a0Resurrection, did you know you were going to die?<\/p>\n

Yes. When I first got asked to do the show, I knew the whole storyline from the beginning to the ending. And all I could say was, \u201cWow. That\u2019s really good.\u201d It really puts a powerful punch here at the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the years, you must have thought about what it would be like for Angel to finally know about Dexter\u2019s secret. How did the reality of playing it out match up with your imagination?<\/p>\n

\n\tI always thought about that even from season one of the original. I always thought about what happens. Because they wrote this amazing character of Angel, who\u2019s got a big heart, who\u2019s an honest cop and who is flawed, but who takes responsibility and is committed to his friends. I always wondered: What if he found out the truth about Dexter Morgan? <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMichael C. Hall<\/a> as Dexter Morgan with David Zayas as Angel Batista on his kill table, along with Peter Dinklage as Leon Prater and Uma Thurman as Charley. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tZach Dilgard\/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt became something in the back of my mind, so when they called me for\u00a0Resurrection, I was like, \u201cOkay, this is an opportunity to bring some new characteristics to Angel Batista,\u201d especially with the information that he has, particularly Dexter being the Bay Harbor Butcher, or even being alive. Angel thought his friend was dead for the past 12 years. That would change anybody in the way they approach certain things. So there is an innocence that\u2019s been chipped away. Angel is darker, he\u2019s less trusting, but he\u2019s still focused on wanting to do it the right way. So it was an interesting journey, particularly being in a city where I don\u2019t have authority. Angel Batista doesn\u2019t have authority in New York City, so he\u2019s got to try and convince other people of this information. That gave me a lot to work with.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat did Angel do wrong here? Should he have called in Quinn (Desmond Harrington) or another Miami Metro colleague to help him on the hunt? Is there something he could have done to avoid this fate?<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you remember the end of\u00a0Dexter: New Blood<\/a>, Angel gets the call saying Dexter is still alive, and he sees the picture. That\u2019s when I felt Angel was on a mission. He was on a mission to corroborate the evidence and then bring Dexter to justice. I feel that Angel would not want to involve other people in his journey. He didn\u2019t know where it was going to go, and he\u2019s doing it after he\u2019s retired from the police department. He\u2019s not supposed to be doing this, but he does it anyway because of his strong moral code. I know he understands the danger and fear of this, but he\u2019s past all that. He\u2019s on a mission to seek \u2014 I never call it vengeance \u2014 to seek justice, but he\u2019s going to still try and do it the right legal way. If I had any advice for Angel Batista, I probably would\u2019ve said, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about the legal way. (Laughs.) Just figure out what you\u2019re going to do!\u201d But that\u2019s not his character. He\u2019s always been someone trying to do the right thing.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf there wasn\u2019t that history between them, I think he\u2019d probably say, \u201cThis isn\u2019t my fight. I don\u2019t want to get killed.\u201d But there\u00a0is\u00a0that history and he knows deep inside that Dexter was fond of Angel. There was a moment in the original series when I get in trouble, Dexter gets me out of trouble and we have a coffee and he tells me, \u201cIf there\u2019s anybody else I\u2019d want to be like, it would be you.\u201d I responded, \u201cI don\u2019t know what that means, but I appreciate it!\u201d Well, now he knows what that means.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tZayas as Angel Batista in Dexter: Resurrection.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tZach Dilgard\/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.<\/p>\n

\n\tTell me about getting onto the iconic table.<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, it was very uncomfortable, first of all. But then there\u2019s this realization for Angel what he\u2019s about to experience at the hand of someone who was once his friend. I think it would drive most people insane. It\u2019s too much to take in. That\u2019s why I reacted the way I reacted afterwards [choosing to attack Dexter immediately].<\/p>\n

\n\tIt feels like a temporary insanity almost.<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. If there\u2019s a knife over you? It changes your perspective. And he\u2019s not used to this! He was stabbed in the first season, sure, but he wasn\u2019t stabbed by his friend! It makes a big difference. Angel\u2019s never been in the kill room, except for episode eight when he got there and it was too late. There\u2019s never been an opportunity for him to actually experience [the Bay Harbor Butcher side of Dexter]. It\u2019s all new. There\u2019s got to be this moment when Angel, after getting drugged, wakes up and sees the situation. He sees Dexter, he\u00a0knows\u00a0who Dexter is and he\u2019s coming at him with a knife. Right now, Angel must just be thinking: \u201cThis is it. This is it for me.\u201d So the moment he instead releases me? I\u2019m going to respond in maybe an illogical way, but a totally understandable way.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn your final moments as the character, Angel doesn\u2019t hold anything back. How did it feel to play that side?<\/p>\n

I was really having myself focus on Dexter. Batista\u2019s there, knowing he\u2019s about to die. He wants to express to Dexter what he\u2019s feeling. The anger. He wants to let everything go, knowing he\u2019s not going to last long. For me, as Angel, it was about connecting with Dexter in those last moments. The deed is done. What\u2019s done is done. I want him to connect with Dexter, at least on the way out. I\u2019ve always maintained the truth and integrity of what I believe and what I want. I\u2019ve always let you know who I am. And I\u2019m letting you know now who I am \u2014 and that this is who\u00a0you\u00a0are. And you know what? F-you. Even though it\u2019s a bad word, I found it very genuine.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt felt paternal to me, almost like a disappointed dad.<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. It was like that. There was a lot going through my mind at that time. But, what a way to go. And again! You don\u2019t have to be alive to be on this show. The door is still open for sure. One hundred percent.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tDexter: Resurrection new episodes release on Fridays, streaming on Paramount+ for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers and a linear debut Sundays at 8:00 p.m. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[This story contains major spoilers from Dexter: Resurrection season one, episode nine, \u201cTouched By An \u00c1ngel.\u201d]Another longtime\u00a0Dexter\u00a0character finally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,7241,44421,7242,134,22643,427],"class_list":{"0":"post-104812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-dexter","11":"tag-dexter-new-blood","12":"tag-dexter-resurrection","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-michael-c-hall","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}