John Lithgow

John Lithgow plays Arthur Mitchell in the fourth season of Dexter. His ability to make an everyday conversation uncomfortable is one of that season's great strengths. Small changes in delivery carry a remarkable amount of tension; he doesn't have to fill every scene with obvious menace.

The part sits within a career that moves easily between comedy and drama. Television roles include Dick Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun, Winston Churchill in The Crown, E.B. Jonathan in Perry Mason and Harold Harper in The Old Man.

Those performances use his voice and physical presence in very different ways. The expansive comedy of Dick Solomon is a long way from the restraint that makes his Dexter work so effective. Opposite Michael C. Hall, Lithgow makes listening to somebody talk feel as consequential as the more overtly dramatic business around them.