EJ Moreno chats with Dexter: Original Sin’s Carlye Tamaren…
So, as a warm-up question, I always love asking people about one of their early horror memories, something that got them into the genre and led them to where they are now.
Can I curse on this?
Yes, yes.
The Ring really fucked me up, really fucked me up. And so for a long time, I took everything way too seriously to watch horror movies. I think I didn’t sleep – in my child mind – I didn’t sleep for two months. I was like, it’s real, it’s gonna happen. Now that I understand how things are made, I’m like, it’s fine and I love them. And I just love the genre. But yeah, The Ring. I never, never forgot about that.
I love interviewing millennials, and our age group is always The Ring. We have certain touchstones [in horror] generationally. Our parents were The Exorcist and Jaws. Our age group is always The Ring.
Yes! The Ring and The Sixth Sense.
Oh, that girl in The Sixth Sense puking…
Absolutely not. Nope. No!
It’s funny that leads us to them liking the genre or working in it, like you have now. So tell me about approaching Dexter and finding the tone. So one thing about Dexter is it can be equally funny and very heartbreaking at the same time, you know, in some scenes. Tell me about approaching the show and your tone for your character as well.
I mean, I’m such a fan of the show, like the original show. So, I had a great idea of how I wanted to play it. It’s not campy, but there’s something camp about it. And so I was like, okay, I just cannot fuck this up. It’s not campy, but there’s something camp about it. And so I was like, okay, I just cannot fuck this up.
But what they do is they play it really real. And so in my audition, I just wanted to make this character as true and heartbreaking as I could make her. Because it’s very realistic, and that’s something beautiful about the show. And then they add in the humor, but it tricks you almost.
You never know what you’re gonna feel between scenes. And I love that it grabs you in.
Exactly!
Knowing that you’re a fan of the original Dexter, can you tell me about working or even being near Patrick Gibson in this Dexter mindset? How did it feel seeing him bring that take of it to life?
Oh, so fun. At the first table read, both Dexters [Gibson and Michael C. Hall] were on Zoom. And I think they were both sick, so every time they would talk, it would switch between the two of them on Zoom and was freaking out because it was exactly the same.
Props to it because it’s such a specific character to nail, and it’s in people’s hearts. So it was really fun to watch him do that.
And also he’s not like that in real life. You know what I mean? So that was really fun to watch. He settled right back into that character as soon as we’re in action.
Oh, the whole cast has been great. I mean, I saw you got to geek out with Sarah Michelle Gellar a little bit, but as a millennial dancer, please tell me you told Christina Milian that ‘Dip It Low’ was a bop back in the day.
[laughs] Ha! Of course I did. Okay, so I didn’t meet her the entire time but I met her at the premiere. And when I tell you there was a DJ that played ‘Dip It Low,’ she was dancing to it. And I said that is when I will meet this woman.
And I was like, Christina, this is the most iconic moment of my life personally, watching you dance and sing to this song in front of me at this premiere for a show that I get to be a small part of…I was like, I love you. That’s all I have to say.
Can you tell me what it means to bond with your crew, even in your supporting role? How important is it to build that community?
I mean, supporting roles are funny. It’s like you have an objective to move part of the story along. But it is, you know, intense days and intense hours, and then you’re gone. Or then you come back like a month later and do the intense thing again. So it’s like strangely a lot of time with these people. But you have to, you know, not freak out and also have fun.
What was really great about this cast, this whole creative team in particular, is that it’s so clear how much they love this Dexter universe. Everybody was having the best time, like it was a no-stress situation. Everybody is professional. Everybody is a legend who’s involved, so it was really fun to come in and do the job, but I actually feel like you have to spend quality time with these people.
I was observing and taking it in like a masterclass. My very first scene was with Christian Slater. And yeah, just getting to play with him and the different levels in my first scene was so much fun. My character is very much on drugs, and getting to play with him and bounce off him was so much fun. The director, Michael Lehman, is also such a legend.
I was doing some research about this. Tell me about Not Your Daddy’s Films and this social impact organization you have, and what you all do with this. We really need something like this now.
Gosh, where to even begin? So, Not Your Daddy’s Films basically started because I’m also a director. I’ve been a performer for so long. Eventually, I was like, I’m not getting to audition for things I want to do. But the problem beyond that is that they don’t exist, especially for women in genre, like I do a lot of action. I thought I didn’t want to keep playing the same thing forever – there’s more that I have to say or that women have to say.
So I started making short films and then I had one that I wanted to screen for my friends and family. We ended up getting an amazing space at a bar in West Hollywood and decided to make it a little ladies night because I was like, well, I have this space, you know, like, let me see if there are other female directors that I can find to screen to. And then immediately everyone was like, how can I submit? How can I volunteer? How can I donate?
We always say it created itself out of necessity and it’s grown really fast in two and a half years. We have short film screenings, we have panels, we have a podcast called Daddy Dailies that just came out. We do workshops as well. It’s just a huge community, and it’s like starting out.
But it’s also a place for us to encourage the multi-hyphenate. I know so many actresses who are literal creative geniuses, but I didn’t know it. I didn’t grow up knowing that I could even be a director; I didn’t know that was an option. So, I think we are just trying to start from the ground up by encouraging women and non-binary creatives to go for it and learn. And this is a safe space to do that; the whole idea with me and my other co-founders, there’s five of us, is that as we learn, you learn to.
Our thanks to Carlye Tamaren for taking the time for this interview.
EJ Moreno
