Back in January, Michael C. Hall announced that he was in remission from Hodgkins Lymphoma. When photos of Hall came out around that time, he looked very sick – he had lost weight, he had lost his hair (presumably from chemo), and he just looked pale and drawn and tired. Considering you never hear anything negative about the guy, and everyone always seems to sing his praises as an actor, as a professional, and as an all-around good guy, Hall pretty much had the well-wishes of everyone in Hollywood. It now looks like Michael is doing much, much better – these photos are of Hall on the set of a film in New York. He looks good, doesn’t he?

Michael C Hall has been bravely battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and it looks like he is definitely winning the fight.

RadarOnline.com is glad to be able to bring you the pictures that show the Dexter star looking hearty and healthy once again.

Hall, who lost all his hair due to chemotherapy treatments, and appeared frail and sickly at the Golden Globe awards just months ago, was spotted on location as he returned to work Monday.

The actor was kitted out in a very convincing wig as he filmed scenes for his upcoming movie, East Fifth Bliss.

Movie goers will be in for a surprise, as the film is a comedy, a distinct change of pace from Michael C Hall’s Dexter character – who is a vicious, though moralistic, serial killer.

[From Radar]

Aw, he’s doing a comedy. That’s good. Dexter has some really funny parts in it too, and it’s not like Michael C. Hall hasn’t done dark comedy or tragic-comedy in a million different ways. I wonder if this is a romantic comedy? Hm. Anyway, I was just so happy that Michael looks so much better, healthier and stronger than when I’d last seen photos of him. He seems like such a sweetheart, so I hope he kicked cancer’s ass for good.

Jesus, what the hell is going on over at the New York Times’ blog sites? The bitches over there are going completely crazy! I’m not joking either. In the past 48 hours, NYT bloggers have referred made snide reference to Christina Hendricks being a “big girl”, saying that Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox have “put on a little weight” and then, the pièce de résistance, some motherf-cking douchebag attempted to take Michael C. Hall to task for wearing a knit skullcap to cover his head since he’s been battling cancer, for God’s sake. Bitches.

First, the Christina Hendricks thing. To be slightly fair to NYT blogger Cathy Horyn, she wasn’t the one to originally say, regarding Christina Hendricks at the Golden Globes, “You don’t put a big girl in a big dress. That’s rule number one.” No, Horyn just quoted some “stylist”. But Horyn’s inclusion of that quote – and her agreement with it – makes her a bitch. Yes, Christina’s dress was less than fabulous. But it wasn’t a question of a “big girl” in a “big dress”. Sometimes it’s just a bad dress. Oh, and add to that this little ill-timed quirk of the NYT’s photo editing: in the original online piece, Gothamist notes that NYT published this distorted photo of Hendricks… it‘s below, on the left, and the unaltered photo is on the right. The distorted photo was taken down after a few hours.

Original NYT distorted photo of Hendricks, courtesy of Gothamist.

Ugh. Now, the Cox-Aniston-Hudson thing. NYT blogger Andy Port (a woman) wrote this below a photo montage of Cox, Hudson and Aniston:

Maybe it’s just me, but I could have sworn that some of the ladies who showed up at the Golden Globes on Sunday had put on a little weight. It’s almost criminal to name names, because the very actresses whose body-mass indexes have been the subject of endless tabloid speculation are the very ones now sporting sexier curves. You could definitely see the difference if you concentrated solely on the upper arms. Instead of a Barbie-doll circumference, there was suddenly, amazingly, a womanly roundness to their frames. More Marilyn than Twiggy, that’s for sure.

[From The New York Times]

You know what I thought when I saw Courteney Cox (photo below)? I thought “Jesus, that woman needs to stop messing with her beautiful face, she looks like a wax figure and oh look she just got her boobs done.” When Courteney hears that one person thinks she looks like she’s “put on a little weight” Courteney will need to schedule an emergency session with her plastic surgeon trainer. As for Aniston and Kate… just stop it. Their bodies are fine. Just shut up, bitches.

Oh, the last one. This was some blogger at the NYT blog The Moment. The guy (or girl, who cares) was apparently tweeting as celebrities showed up, and the blogger wrote about Michael C. Hall “Is Michael C. Hall playing Bob Marley in an upcoming movie. Don’t get the hat or what he is hiding under it.” Shut up. I hate you.

A blogger for the New York Times apparently didn’t get the memo that Dexter star Michael C. Hall is battling cancer.

As first noticed at PerezHilton, on Sunday, the Times’ style blog the Moment made a surprising Twitter comment about the knit skull cap Hall wore at the Golden Globes.

“Is Michael C. Hall playing Bob Marley in an upcoming movie?” the Tweet snapped. “Don’t get the hat or what he is hiding under it.”

In fact, Hall, 38, disclosed Jan. 13 that he is being successfully treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which he called a “treatable and curable condition.” His spokesperson told UsMagazine.com that the cancer is in “complete remission.”

The “Moment” blogger eventually realized the unfortunate oversight with a red-faced Tweet: “So sorry that Michael C. Hall has had cancer. Thanks for clarifying why he is wearing a knitted skull cap.”

When the actor won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television drama, he joked about his Japanese hat (covering up hair loss that is often the byproduct of cancer treatment), “it is nice to have a justifiable excuse for accessorizing!” The accessory itself, he said, was “pretty simple but maybe a little fancier than your normal thing.”

[From Us Weekly]

Okay, even if you’re somehow a fashion/entertainment/celebrity blogger who has somehow missed the news that Michael C. Hall is in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma – which Hall himself announced days before the Golden Globes – how could anyone look at him (photo below) and think “Why is that idiot wearing a skullcap?” Hall looked obviously ill at the Globes. Like, he’s fighting for his life and he’s lost weight and his color isn’t that great. So, beyond the skullcap signifier (and the fact that an entertainment blogger should actually follow entertainment news), there was plenty of visual evidence that Hall wasn’t at his healthiest. Sure, I’m glad this blogger apologized. But the guy’s still a douchebag.

My mother was so upset when I called and told her this – Michael C. Hall is currently undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but is in “complete remission.” Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, basically a cancer in your lymph system (I’m not a doctor, I’m not sure how to be more precise). The symptoms include: night sweats, sudden weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver and/or spleen, back pain, and even more. And now I’m such a hypochondriac I’m sitting here thinking I have it too. Ugh, I hate Wikipedia sometimes. Anyway, if it’s caught early, the chances are very good that someone will make a full recovery. It sounds like Michael C. Hall is already well on his way:

“Dexter” star Michael C. Hall is undergoing treatment for cancer and the disease is in remission, a spokesman said. “I feel fortunate to have been diagnosed with an imminently treatable and curable condition, and I thank my doctors and nurses for their expertise and care,” Hall, 38, said Wednesday in a statement.

The actor was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system. The disease is considered highly treatable with the potential for full recovery.

Craig Bankey, a spokesman for the actor, said the cancer is in complete remission and Hall’s treatment will continue as planned.

When Hall was diagnosed and the name of the Los Angeles-area health facility where he’s undergone treatment were not released.

Hall plans to attend Sunday’s Golden Globe awards and the upcoming Screen Actors Guild ceremony with his wife, actress Jennifer Carpenter, who plays his sister on Showtime’s “Dexter.” Hall is a nominee at both awards shows for his role as Dexter Morgan, a serial killer working as a blood-spatter expert.

Bankey said Hall will return to production on the drama’s fifth season later this year.

[From Huffington Post]

Over the holidays, I finally got around to watching the first three seasons of Dexter. My mother had been raving about it for a year, and once I got into it, I was totally hooked. It’s not the best show, but it’s interesting, compelling and at times oddly moving and hilarious. Michael C. Hall does an incredible job at the title character, a serial killer, family man and best big brother in the world. But for my money, I love some Sgt. Angel Batista (actor: David Zayas). And James Remar is always amazing. Anyway, it’s good to hear that Hall is so upbeat about his recovery, and hopefully the lymphoma will stay in remission forever. I’ll be looking for him at the Globes!

Michael C. Hall and his wife Jennifer Carpenter (she plays his sister on ‘Dexter’) in LA on September 26, 2009, and at the Emmys on September 20, 2009. Michael solo at Comic-Con on July 23, 2009 in San Diego. Promotional image for Dexter, Season 4. Credit for all: WENN.

Warning, mild spoilers for Dexter ahead
The National Enquirer reports in this week’s issue that actor Jimmy Smits, who plays district attorney Miguel Prado, stabbed an actor in the chest several times during a scene in which he accidentally picked up a real knife that was inexplicably put right next to a fake prop knife on set. Smits stabbed actor Jeff Chase in the chest with a knife he assumed was a prop. He easily could have killed him, but as luck had it Chase was wearing a chest plate, which saved his life:

Dexter star Michael C. Hall screamed in horror “Stop! Stop! Stop!” as fellow actor Jimmy Smits stabbed another actor repeatedly in the chest with a real knife on the set of their hit show.

The shocking September 5 incident occurred after a real knife was mistakenly placed next to a theatrical prop knife.

“During a horrific execution scene with actor Jeff Chase, Smits was so into the part he kept stabbing Chase ferociously with what he thought was a fake knife,” a shaken eyewitness told the Enquirer…

Smits was so caught up in the emotionally charged scene, it took him about 16 seconds to stop. “By a miracle, Chase escaped without a cut because he had a protective chest plate on underneath his clothes,” said the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, September 28, 2008]

I left out a key detail in The Enquirer’s story which would make this even more of a spoiler. I’m a Dexter fan and have seen most every episode, and that detail about the incident might give too much away. If you want the full story you can pick up the Enquirer.

It’s a good thing that the actor was fine after that ordeal. A crew member might looking for a new job after this.

Several actors have been killed in stunts that involved props. The most well known is Brandon Lee, who was killed in 1993 by a stunt bullet on the set of The Crow. The gun was supposed to contain blanks, but a bullet that was accidentally lodged in the barrel from an earlier scene was fired at him later during filming, and hit him in the stomach. The bullet became lodged in his spine and he later died at the hospital.

Jon-Erik Hexum died in 1984 after he put a prop gun loaded with blanks to his head on the set of television show Cover Up and pulled the trigger as a joke.

This story has a much less tragic ending and it is likely that Dexter staff have learned their lesson and will be more careful in the future.

Header photo via IGN

Michael C Hall stars as a serial killer with a conscience in the dramatic series Dexter, which recently completed its second season on Showtime. Dexter’s day job is as a forensic blood expert with the Miami police department where he works with his sister, Debra Morgan, an up and coming homicide detective. On screen the two play siblings who have playful camaraderie and help each other out, and offscreen they’re said to have been dating for around four months:

[Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter] “have been seeing each other secretly for some time,” a source tells Star. “They were keeping it quiet because Michael is still married.” The former Six Feet Under star, 36, filed for divorce from his wife of four years, actress Amy Spanger, in 2006. Although it’s still pending, Michael and Jennifer, 28, finally decided that four months of sneaking around was enough!

[From Star Magazine, print edition, January 14, 2008]

I’ve only seen the first season of Dexter as I live overseas and don’t have access to the second season yet, but I’m looking forward to it. It took me a while to get into the show as the premise is so odd, but once I watched a couple of episodes I was hooked and my husband loves it two.

Dexter and Deb are just brother and sister by adoption on the show as Deb’s father, a homicide detective, adopted Dexter. I won’t give away much more of the plot as it’s a worthy series to rent and watch in its entirety. Considering that these two play siblings by adoption it might be a little easier for them to step out of their characters and fall in love. Hopefully they aren’t too burdened by the plot of the show. It seems outlandish enough not to be taken seriously by the people who work on it, although it sucks you in, kind of like Prison Break.

Michael C Hall is a talented actor and Six Feet Under is one of my favorite shows of all time. It’s nice to see him finding success again on Dexter.

Images are promotional photos for Dexter season one and two. It’s confirmed that it has been picked up for a third season by Showtime, although it’s likely to be delayed by the writer’s strike.

Update: The first season of Dexter will air on CBS on Sundays starting 2/17. It will be edited for to meet broadcast TV standards. [via ONTD]