Summary

• Harrison Morgan, the son of the titular character in Dexter, has been played by various actors throughout the series, including uncredited infants and multiple child actors.
• In the sequel show Dexter: New Blood, Harrison returns as a teenager with a mix of cold indifference, teenage angst, and simmering violence.
• The finale of Dexter: New Blood sees Harrison killing his father, realizing that Dexter fits Harry's code, showcasing his own dark tendencies.

In Dexter, the titual serial killer Dexter Morgan has a biological son named Harrison Morgan, and while Dexter's kid has appeared in every season of the show since season 4, including the sequel Dexter: New Blood, several actors have played him. At the end of season 4, Harrison’s mother, Rita (Julie Benz), is murdered, and he is left to be raised by his serial killer father. In the Dexter series finale, a slightly older Harrison is left in the care of Dexter's love interest and fellow killer Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski), who raises him in Argentina after Dexter is presumed dead.

Harrison Morgan (Jack Alcott) shows back up in Dexter: New Blood season 1 and reconnects with his dad. Now, Harrison has a mixture of cold indifference, teenage angst, and simmering violence lurking beneath the surface. Unfortunately Dexter: New Blood ends with Harrison killing his father, as he realizes Dexter fits Harry's code. There were two Harrison Morgan recasts, but he is also shown in a brief vision of what a future 17-year-old version might look like and was initially played by a handful of un-credited infants.

Various Child Actors Play Baby Harrison

Dexter Season 4

Several un-credited infants play Harrison Morgan in Dexter season 4. Harrison is introduced to drive the relationship between Dexter and Rita forward as the couple with Rita's two other children, Astor and Cody. They find much-needed peace in suburban Miami until John Lithgow's unforgettable Trinity Killer brutally kills Rita. It isn't until Dexter season 5 that audiences get to see an actor consistently play the part of Harrison. Up until that point, seemingly interchangeable babies played the part.

Evan George & Luke Andrew Kruntchev Play Infant Harrison

Dexter Seasons 5-7

The first two actors officially portraying Harrison Morgan before New Blood are twins named Evan George and Luke Andrew Kruntchev, who play the part in Dexter seasons 5-7. Much like the way Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were cast as Michelle in ABC's Full House, Harrison was played by two young actors who were interchanged throughout the episodes.

Due to child labor laws, this allowed the showrunners to consistently shoot more often and for more hours than they would've been able to had they only used a single actor. It is unclear why the Kruntchev twins left the show after the seventh season wrapped, but there are rumors that it was because of their role on Days of Our Lives.

Lucas Adams Played Future Harrison In Dexter's Vision

Dexter Season 7

Lucas Adams was cast to play Harrison in a short sequence in Dexter season 7 wherein an idyllic future Harrison is shown while Dexter imagines his life with Hannah in the future. Adams was not officially cast to play the part other than in Dexter's imagination. Adams had a part in the soap opera The Young and the Restless early in his career. He was too old in 2021 to be cast as the teenage Harrison, so the actor wouldn't have been eligible for the part even if SHOWTIME wanted to bring him back.

Jadon Wells Played Four-Year-Old Harrison

Dexter Season 8

In Dexter season 8, six-year-old Jadon Wells played four-year-old Harrison Morgan. There was such a stark and obvious difference between season 7 and 8, but casting Wells resulted in a much more expressive Harrison Morgan, and he did a wonderful job at playing the character. Jadon played the part until the series finale, but he is not in any of the episodes in New Blood. Much like the Kruntchev twins, Wells also had a part in Days of Our Lives after his time on Dexter came to an end.

Jack Alcott Played Teenage Harrison In The Sequel Show

Dexter: New Blood

Jack Alcott became Harrison Morgan in Dexter: New Blood. When Alcott auditioned and was first cast, he was told he'd be playing a character named Randall who was described as having a close relationship with Dexter and a significant character arc during New Blood. Until he had signed an NDA and received the first script for the show, Alcott had no idea that he would be playing Dexter's teenage son, Harrison (via Gold Derby/YouTube).

In New Blood, Hannah mysteriously passed away a few years after Dexter abandoned them. Harrison finds a letter Dexter sent to Hannah. Its contents make him believe Dexter abandoned him due to the darkness he saw inside his son, and this is the reason that Dexter didn't want to stick around and raise him. This results in Harrison having an internal struggle with darkness that, had he never found out about Dexter's letter or had Dexter stayed to help raise him, may not have been there.

Jack Alcott does a great job portraying his at-first contentious relationship with his father. Harrison Morgan delicately balances his deep emotions along with the sense of abandonment he gains from an absentee father. Harrison's journey throughout Dexter: New Blood is a rocky one: while he initially rebuffs Dexter, there's a clear need for him to be accepted. Dexter mentors his son when he realizes Harrison hosts the same urges as himself, but Harrison takes Harry's code to a new level.

In a moment of black-and-white morality, he kills Dexter. While the finale is certainly controversial among audiences, Jack Alcott was praised heavily for his portrayal of the serial killer's son. If Dexter: New Blood were to have a second season, there's no doubt viewers would be happy to see Jake Alcott return as the character.

How Watching Harrison Grow Up Through Different Actors Made His Journey More Powerful

Harrison Morgan's Fate

It's unknown if Harrison Morgan's arc was set from his infancy, but watching the character grow up through different actors has made his journey more powerful. Viewers didn't get to see Harrison through his later childhood and early teenage years, but that doesn't mean that Dexter fans didn't see Dexter's son grow up. When Harrison is first introduced in Dexter season 4, he's a typical baby, but his presence raises a very important question in people's minds: will he have Dexter's killer urges, or will he be normal?

More simply, are killers born or are they made? Harrison complicates Dexter's life and his murders as time marches forward, and the serial killer must learn how to balance his family and his extracurricular activities. The first major Harrison Morgan actor change occurs after the Trinity Killer makes sure that the baby is born in blood, the same as his father. While the switch-up is clearly due to needing an older actor for the role of Harrison, it does point to a very specific change in the character as a whole.

Harrison Morgan was recast again in season 8, as a more expressive actor was needed to show the child's maturity. The teenage/adult Harrison shows up in Dexter: New Blood, which showcases how much the boy has grown and is driven by an inherited killer instinct. Watching Harrison from infancy to his amoral adult self is necessary for Dexter, and it makes his journey more powerful and disturbing. Using child actors makes his arc more real and the consequences more terrifying.