When David Zayas first signed on to the cast of Showtime's Dexter, we're willing to bet he never knew that he'd be part of one of the most popular shows on television two seasons later. After playing Enrique Morales on HBO's prison drama Oz, Zayas found himself on the other side of the law on Dexter in the role of homicide detective Angel Batista, the closest thing Showtime's serial killer character has to a best friend.

Since Dexter's dark mental reality forced him to re-evaluate his identity at the end of Season 2, even considering himself to be "an idea transcended into life", we're sure David Zayas will have his hands full in Season 3 when the series returns in September 2008.

A couple of days ago, The Deadbolt took a call from David Zayas to find out how he feels about Dexter after two seasons, the controversy the series sparked earlier in the year, how his old Oz character would've gotten on with Dexter, the casting of Jimmy Smits, and the status of the upcoming Dexter video game.

THE DEADBOLT: Since you’ve played a lot of cops over the years, what attracted you to Angel?

DAVID ZAYAS: Well, he was different. He wasn’t a tough guy and he wasn’t "cop-y". He was a cop with a lot of layers. And a lot of these layers were of a sensitive nature, and a nature of conscience, and it was something that I haven’t played. It doesn’t really matter to me how many cops I’ve played. It’s the kind of cops that I play, you know? What quality can I bring that’s interesting to whatever [role], whether it’s a cop, a criminal, or a guitar player. Whatever the case may be, what can I bring that’s interesting? He gave me a lot on interesting outs in this character and it’s a lot of fun.

THE DEADBOLT: In the novel, since Angel is a lab-tech, would you have been just as psyched to play him that way as compared to a homicide detective?

ZAYAS: It doesn’t matter to me as long as that character is interesting, as long as the character brings something to the table that’s going to help move the story along - the story of Dexter. It really wouldn’t matter to me what it is. They made him a homicide detective so that I could be involved more with the storylines that are being written. And Angel Batista wasn’t really in the books a lot, so the writers did a great job in developing this character throughout the last two years, and it’s a lot more than the book has. So it was a nice surprise for me.

THE DEADBOLT: As an ex-cop, how do you feel about what Dexter does or about what he is?

ZAYAS: You know, the one thing about what I do - and I’ve always been like that probably because I’m from the city, I’m from the Bronx, and I’ve been around all kinds of people, people who do illegal things and legal things - I find that I reserve my judgment for a lot of people. So I’m a very non-judgmental person because people are very complicated. You can’t just say, "Okay, this is a bad guy." That’s too vague and it’s not interesting, it’s kind of boring. The thing is - whether this guy is a good guy or a bad guy, whether he’s a serial killer, whether he’s a whatever - it’s the quality in that person and the characteristics that make this person click that’s interesting. And, as an actor, I don’t judge that. I kind of embrace it, so I reserve judgment on Dexter. I don’t really judge him as - especially as an actor in this business - if Angel ever finds out he’s a killer, then whatever happens, whatever response Angel has, is what I would do.

But as a former police officer, I have a lot of different views. I don’t believe in the death penalty, I believe in a lot of things. You know, I believe prostitution and marijuana should be legalized. I have a lot of very liberal views on things, and the one thing that has come from that is I don’t judge. I just watch the character and enjoy his complications and how he handles certain things, that’s what’s interesting to me. So I really have no judgment of Dexter. As a law enforcement officer, I would arrest him if I caught him doing something, that’s my job. But personally, I don’t judge.

Exclusive: Inside the Mind of Dexter with David Zayas Page 2