Posted in: Paramount+, Showtime, TV | Tagged: dexter, dexter: resurrection

Dexter: Resurrection: Antoinette on Working with Hall & Zayas, Fandom

Reese Antoinette (Bad Monkey) spoke with Bleeding Cool about her role on Dexter: Resurrection, working with Michael C. Hall & David Zayas, and more.

Reese Antoinette wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to her fandom of the Dexter franchise, but not only does she get to live her dream, playing Joy Kamara, in the latest Showtime spinoff Resurrection, but she gets to expand her career and share the screen with two of her co-stars who also happen to be New York University alma mater in franchise star Michael C. Hall, who plays the title character, and Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, who pays her father, Blessing Kamara. The Bad Monkey star spoke to Bleeding Cool about growing up a Dexter fan, working with showrunner Clyde Phillips, reconnecting with Hall, and bonding with David Zayas, who was also with Hall from the beginning of the original series.

Dexter: Resurrection: Reese Antoinette on Living Her Fan Dream, NYU Bonding, and Zayas

What intrigued you about 'Dexter: Resurrection', and how did you get involved?

First, I'm a huge fan. I would have been watching the show even if I wasn't in it [laughs]. I'm excited about this new season, being in New York, and all the new storylines. We're halfway through the season right now, and there is some exciting stuff in the next five episodes. It's exciting to see the story continue. It's refreshing, and I feel all the characters are adding to this amazing franchise.

What was it like working with Clyde as a showrunner?

Clyde's awesome. That's a great question. He was on set a few times while I was there, and you can tell that he has a vision. He knows exactly what the story is and where it's going. I felt very confident when he was on set. He's such a visionary. It's impressive what he's done with this franchise.

Was it hard not to get a little starstruck when you met with Michael?

Yes. I met Michael before when I was still at NYU. He came to my second year for this music showcase we call 'Cabaret.' He was our special alum invited guest, and the first day we were together, I asked him, "Do you remember you came in my second year for this music showcase we call 'Cabaret?' He was like, "Wait! Oh, I remember that!" I was like, "Yeah, in the hall." I was like, "I love 'Dexter' and this franchise. I admire all the work you've done and bringing this character to life. I followed it for many years."

The first day I worked with him was the acupuncture scene on episode three ("Backseat Driver"). That's a conversation we had before doing it, because it was just the two of us working on that scene. In the conversation, he was like, "Oh yeah, I do remember that." I was like, "This is so crazy, like, full circle!" Michael, along with Ntare, who plays my dad, Blessing Kamara, went to NYU before me. To watch them work on set was a once-in-a-lifetime gift, to be honest, having two actors that I've been watching for many years and then working with them on this season was incredible, knowing we came from the same grad school program.

How did you develop the chemistry playing Joy with Ntare's Blessing?

Ntare was incredibly warm from the first time I met him, and we talked about, of course, having that same NYU background, but Ntare, not just as an actor, is a generous person, and immediately I felt connected to him and felt comfortable. He's somebody who works with young people quite a bit. I also felt like he didn't feel foreign working with an actor just starting out.

Ntare felt nurturing, as you would expect from a father on set. When I think about how he navigates the family, and what we've seen so far of the Kamara family, he is like a patriarch in a way. It felt nice to be the only child for once, because I do have a brother in real life [laughs]. It felt like being the kid in the house was exciting under such cool, amazing, protective, but also loving immigrant parents, which I also have a connection with. That was cool.

The show features numerous screen veterans. Did you talk with any of them, perhaps pick their brain on the craft like Uma Thurman or Peter Dinklage?

The person I connected with the most, and I've been watching him this season for many years, is David Zayas. He is so incredible. Everything I just said about Ntare, I could say about him because we got to work together this season, and so I met him on set. He also really connected with me in New York, with him being from Puerto Rico and, like me, from the Caribbean.

[David] has this warm, generous soul, and we've seen that through Batista throughout the seasons, but also generally as a person. For him, it's not just about his Batista character, but you could tell when he's on set that he cares about everybody on set. I'm new to this series. I came in on this first season of 'Resurrection,' but you can tell he's like, "I know the story," and he was so welcoming.

We also talked about John Ortiz, who is one of his close friends, and I met John on [our Apple TV+ show] 'Bad Monkey,' and they're very close to the New York theater scene. They just go way back, and so when I told him, like I know John, he was like, "What?! I was just talking to John," so it was like this New York-Caribbean connection, which is pretty exciting. Immediately when we connected, I saw him at the [red] carpet and [David] gave me a hug. He felt like family, and that's incredible. I admire his work on and off television. He's such an incredible actor and person.

New episodes of Dexter: Resurrection, which also stars Jack Alcott, Kadia Saraf, Dominic Fumusa, Emilia Suárez, and James Remar, air Sundays on Showtime and are available to stream on Paramount+ Premium.

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