After revealing earlier this year that he was battling cancer, Dexter star Michael C. Hall is healthy, whole and back in the role of Showtime’s oddly noble serial killer – and grateful for the support he received from his cast and crew during the tough period.

“I count myself lucky on so many fronts – and certainly in regards to the Hodgkin’s [lymphoma],” a fit-looking Hall, again sporting a full head of hair after his treatments, told People this week at San Diego’s Comic-Con International.

“It’s a real gift to be able to go back to work,” says Hall, 39. “One of the best things about it is that it emerged at a time when we were close to the end of shooting. I was able to treat it over the hiatus and it didn’t interrupt our production schedule, which, obviously, would have its effect on me, but it would have its effect on our cast, our crew, people who count on this family to keep making the show.”

Check out this great new interview with Michael from The LA Times. Keep in mind it may have some spoilers if you haven’t seen past seasons and are currently catching up!

When Michael C. Hall took to the stage to accept a Golden Globe in January, it represented his first win after four nominations for his role as a serial killer on Showtime’s Dexter. Just a week earlier, with awards season then in full swing and his Globes appearance at the Beverly Hilton Hotel imminent, Hall was compelled to make a startling announcement: He was undergoing a battle with lymphoma. Though he joked backstage that the hat he wore to conceal the hair loss effects of his treatment gave him “a justifiable excuse for accessorizing,” he has kept his battle quiet. His wife and costar, Jennifer Carpenter, recently announced that the 39-year-old actor has “fully recovered.” In April, as Dexter began shooting its fifth season, which will begin airing in September, Hall shared his thoughts about America’s most lovable sociopath.

Why do you think Dexter as a character has connected with audiences, despite his objectionable actions?

I think audiences relish the opportunity to identify with these central, even glaring, flaws. I think all of us have a shadow that we carry around — whether it’s as formidable as one that inspires you to be a serial killer …. But I think there’s something on a metaphorical level that resonates with people.

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Parade has a newly published interview with some new quotes from Michael C . Hall. You can read it in our press archives. Thanks to Anne for the heads up!

A couple of my favorite excerpts:

As for the folks back home in North Carolina.
“They like the show — at least that’s what my Mom tells me. I think it’s fun for them to see me. Honestly, I think some of my family members of a certain generation were more skittish about me playing a gay character on Six Feet Under than watching me play a killer. Now what does that say about the culture we live in that we can relate more to a murderous rage?”

He’d like to thank his mom.
“By the time I had decided to pursue acting, my father had passed away. But, my mother, thankfully, was by no means like a stage mom. She just basically said, ‘Okay. You do that.’ I’m sure she was biting her tongue thinking, ‘How are you going to pull it off? I mean the odds are so against you. Anyway, she gave me some good advice growing up like, ‘Showing up is 95% but don’t overstay your welcome,’ ‘Try not to be a burden on anybody,’ and ‘Don’t worry about a thing.’”

Examiner has some of what was said by Michael in the SAG Press Room.

How have you spent your time in the days between winning your Golden Globe Award and your Screen Actors Guild Award? And how are you feeling?

I have been feeling very well. Because I made this announcement [about recovering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer], these public appearances were on the horizon, and it’s actually been a nice surprise. I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me who otherwise wouldn’t have: high-school teachers, friends from college. I spent a lot of this week responded to a lot of concerned but ultimately congratulatory e-mails and things like that. It’s been a lot of fun.

When you started Dexter, did you foresee getting any awards for the show? Did you think the show would be as critically acclaimed as it is?

I didn’t know. I knew our task was to sympathize a serial killer, and that it was a unique goal. I thought that the show would probably develop some sort of cult following, but I didn’t anticipate that the following would be as broad, that it would attract as many different kinds of viewers as it’s had. And I certainly didn’t foresee [Dexter] bobbleheads and video games and all that stuff.

Where did you put your Golden Globe, and where are you going to put your Screen Actors Guild Award?

I put it [the Golden Globe Award] in a little passageway in between the bathroom and the guest bedroom, where we have such things in our house. I’ll probably put it [the Screen Actors Guild Award] up there.

America’s favorite serial killer won’t star in a musical episode anytime soon.

After getting his start in flashy stage shows like Cabaret, and then investing five seasons in playing a gay undertaker on HBO’s Six Feet Under, Michael C. Hall saw his career take a pleasingly homicidal turn. The 38-year-old actor is about to star in the fourth season of Dexter, as a murderous vigilante with his own offbeat moral code. To keep up the facade, the killer leads a supposedly honest life as a blood-spatter analyst, a new husband and a father of three. Can Dexter survive it all? More important, can Hall survive our questioning?

We were scheduled to talk at 1:35 exactly. That’s a very specific, Dexter-like time. Are you as meticulous as your character?