Keith Carradine: From Serial Killer to Dexter Nemesis

• Oct 19, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by G.J. Donnelly

Fresh from playing a milkshake-sipping serial killer on Criminal Minds, Keith Carradine is now hunting for one on Dexter (Sundays at 9 pm/ET, Showtime), as an FBI agent assigned to Miami after bodies are discovered in a harbor. Carradine shares his thoughts on his new role, his famous family and his Deadwood experience.

TV Guide: You play Agent Lundy, who is investigating the Bay Harbor Butcher. Tell us about him.
Keith Carradine: I come in with this reputation as a star in the serial-profiling world. It makes Dexter sit up and take notice. He realizes he really has to watch himself now.

TV Guide: What do you like about him?
Carradine: He's not cocky, he's just very confident. And what was fun about playing him is that he looks at everyone with a question mark.

TV Guide: You played the sadistic Frank on Criminal Minds. What's it like going from one end of the spectrum to the other?
Carradine: The fun about these guys is that they’re both written as powerful intellects. My fun being the killer was daring [Mandy Patinkin’s Gideon] to figure out who I was and what I was up to. In the case of Lundy, it’s the opposite side of that game.

TV Guide: What was it like playing Wild Bill Hickok on Deadwood?
Carradine: Great part. I was brought in by my old friend Walter Hill. It was an extraordinary experience because of the writing. Let's face it, [David] Milch is unique. When you get to act to writing like that, half the work is done for you.

TV Guide: You come from an illustrious acting family. Is there a sense of competition?
Carradine: There's no competition on our part. We may wind up going in for the same role, although that's rare because we're all so different. The only time David and I were ever up for the same role was Bound for Glory, and the right man got that job.

TV Guide: Some of your biggest film successes, like McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Nashville, were with Robert Altman.
Carradine: He was the best. Actors loved Bob because he invited you to bring whatever you wanted to the table. He invited you to share ideas, to be at your most creative. I miss him.

TV Guide: Do you sing "I'm Easy" in the shower?  
Carradine: [Laughs] I've sung that song so many times it tends not to be the first one that comes to mind.

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