With a thread set up for the brilliant MCH, I thought the equally fantastic Julie Benz was worthy of her own thread. Dexter is one of many thing I've liked her in. Others include her performances in Buffy, Angel, Roswell and guest appearances in Supernatural and CSI as well as that unfortunate receptionist in As Good As It Gets.

I've seen Julie Benz's work before but I'd never call myself particularly familiar with her, and she absolutely captivates me. Rita could be a terribly mopey, listless character, but Julie really breathes life into her. I thought she was fantastic Sunday night.

I completely agree. I love the amount of depth she gives to the character. She's not just some victimized, previously abused wife, etc. You can see that she's got this core of strength that she's found and she's trying to provide a great life for her children. Rita could absolutely be the type of character whom you alternately pity and despise, but Julie makes her into a character that I can admire and root for, which I think is great. Julie also is able to make it so that Rita's weaknesses are understandable and sympathetic and the writers have balanced her character so her actions are completely believable to me.

Have had a mega crush on her since her Darla days on Buffy...I'd kill for her....did I just write that?????

Ok if I want to be completly honest this show first appealed to me because she was in it.

I love it when an actor you've previously dismissed repeatedly, suddenly impresses the hell out of you. It's happened to me twice now in the past year. One was Brian Van Holt in John from Cincinnatti and the other is Julie Benz. I've never been a JB fan - not even on my beloved Buffy and Angel but she's so great as Rita. Playing the love interest who is also a good, decent person, yet is still compelling, and who the audience won't roll their eyes at is hard. Case in point: Lana Lang/Kristen Kreuk.

I hope this role will open more interesting doors for JB.

Holy crap. Julie Benz looks incredibly hot with dark hair. That is all.

Wow. Allow me to be the 1st to post (though not the 1st to think) that I like her better as a brunette.

Ok. I'm logging in after a fairly long lurk time simply to say, as much as I'm an admirer of Julie Benz, I'd never considered her with dark hair. That image? Yeah, I couldn't blink - or really even move - with that image onscreen.

Guh.

There is an article about Julie Benz in the April issue of Skating magazine: "Star power: Former U.S. ice dancer realizes Hollywood dream"

I understand her character and the show and I think her actions are believable. However, for some reason, she bugs me.

At first I felt bad because I felt my feelings were unjustifiable. Then I reached season two and the part where she hangs on to him when she thinks he is a drug addict. OK, so we know Dex is not a drug addict, but SHE doesn't know that. And despite the fact her former drug addict husband just died in prison, she stays with him. I think if she truly had "inner strength" as she is trying to display, she'd tell him to get help, get clean and then come back and she'd consider a relationship. This way it just makes her look desperate and like the stereotyped female that thinks she can "change" the addict.

Julie Benz is hot in the new Rambo movie. Of course.

Eh... still haven't seen it.

Does anyone know if Julie Benz is actually pregnant? She seems to have a bit more boobage this season, or maybe it's the way they're dressing her...

Midway through the first season, she started to glam it up, more makeup and her forehead was botoxed. The first thing I noticed on her this season was the boob job (I am a pig).

Look at some of the first episaodes and then look at these, you'll notice the difference.

Nope. It's a boobjob, haha. Personally, I think she looked better beforehand. It looks like she got botox or a lift, too. She just looks way different, and it's definitely more than just makeup.

So that's it! I thought she looked way more sexy now. Back in season one she had that average look about her. I mean, she sure was beautiful, but she didn't pass for "Hollywood" beautiful in every part she played, as many actresses do. Now she just looks stunning, and that sort of takes away from that fragile character that we knew back in year one. It's pretty hard to act vulnerable when you look that good.