True Blood’s Evan Rachel Wood Interview

Movie Line has a video interview with Evan Rachel Wood who will be playing Queen Sophie-Anne on HBO True Blood Season 2.

First up in our series of red carpet video interviews from the event is Evan Rachel Wood, who was receiving the Young Hollywood Superstar award (presented by Patricia Clarkson) but took the time to talk to Movieline about her splashy season two performance as the vampire queen of True Blood, a role she’d been unable to discuss until now.

View the video inteview here.

Graham Shiels Gets “True” With SOS

We found another nice article interview with Graham Shiels who played the role of Liam in Season 1 of HBO True Blood. Thanks for Jennifer Synder at Soap Opera Source for allowing us to feature her interview with Graham Shiels.

Graham Shiels has appeared on film, stage and television with a career in acting spanning the last 8 years. His most recent role as Liam on HBO’s True Blood, has garnered fans from around the world. Graham was classically trained at the Yale School of Drama and significant credits in theater including the highlight of performances with Tony Award winner Brian Bedford, at The Mark Taper Forum in “The Moliere Comedies.” Also Graham is an accomplished improviser and alumni of Improv Olympic West.

Graham took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with Soap Opera Source about his role on HBO’s True Blood and his recurring role as Cody Paul on ABC’s General Hospital.

True Blood has garnered a lot of attention since its first season began. Why do you think it was a huge hit for HBO? What makes this vampire series stand out above the other original programming on HBO?

As for the success of TB I think it’s just plain different. Alan Ball has impeccable taste and the show mixes in a lot of humor into the world of a blood-thirsty, human-killing vampire. So it’s like no other vampire story ever told. I also think that’s where he differs from the books, by Charlaine Harris, because though there is humor in the books, there’s a LOT more in the TV show. Trying to tell the story by portraying these vampires as having real social conflict and feelings about fitting in is different–not just a horror/gore movie about vampires sucking people’s necks and speaking in bad generic eastern European accents.

True Blood pushed the envelope with the nudity and the language. Every episode there was somebody having sex. Liam’s sex scenes showed full backside nakedness. Was that something that was difficult for you to do? I mean some actors are not open to showing a lot of skin and True Blood is a series that shows a lot of skin every episode.

I was very nervous when we shot that. As, I’m sure, my co-star was, too. Had it not been Alan Ball, Oscar award-winning writer, and HBO, I never would have done it. And it was just my butt. It wasn’t full frontal. I’d never (never say never, Graham) do full frontal. I’ve done it onstage, though, in a Shakespeare play. But I knew in this case it served the story and that it would be handled with great taste seeing as it’s Alan Ball. Blood taste.

There was even an episode that you were in bed with Sookie’s brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten) during one his love scenes with a girl who had had sex with Liam. Was it uncomfortable for the two of you doing that scene together?

Working with Ryan was not uncomfortable at all b/c we both knew this was a fun “bit,” so to speak. It was very fun to shoot. Ryan had this great idea he should be holding my foot and that’s how he notices it’s me and not the girl–and in retrospect, I think we should have gone the whole way and he could have been sucking my toes, too!

Was there a memorable event, moment, scene, episode from True Blood that maybe was intense or funny that didn’t make it on screen?

There was a funny moment in ep #7 when we’re coming into Merlott’s to get Bill. Ana/Sookie is chewing out Andrew/Malcolm. When we were rehearsing I laughed like I was enjoying that she was taking Malcolm down a peg and then Andrew gave me an evil glare, like, “shut-up.” That whole exchange cracked everyone up. But it couldn’t make it into the cut b/c it really wasn’t what was written in terms of the intensity of the conflict. But it was very real–and so, funny.

Liam was a little more hardcore vampire than some of the other vamps on True Blood. Was there something that you drew from to flesh out the character?

Just from meeting Alan and he said these vampires live like they don’t know when they’ll ever feed again, so the moment they get the scent/feeling they’re about to feed, it’s absolute lusty/insane desire. And as far as sex goes, they treat these human fang bangers like lawn furniture.

You returned to GH a few months ago and your character of Cody Paul has become very much intertwined with the mob as Jason’s informant/body guard. Is this a position you like Cody to be in or would you like to see Cody branch out into other stories and with other characters?

I love working with Steve Burton (Jason). He’s incredibly talented and he’s just a fun guy to be around. He’s got such a level of ease in his work that I learn from him every day. So it’s wonderful to be there in the thick of the coffee importing business. I also think it plays to some of my strengths to be around situations that it may present, i.e., intimidating lesser men. And, yes, of course, I’d love to do more and more. More conflict introduced to Cody’s life (maybe the drug addiction stuff, maybe he’s an amateur MMA fighter?) would be wonderful, and, of course, a love interest would be dope because I’d get to show the freaky, yet soft and vulnerable, side of Cody Paul.

The writers touched upon Cody’s drug addiction when you returned, saying that he was in recovery. Is that something you’d like for the writers to build on and explore?
It’s something that the writers could touch back into because I think we all know how easy it is for an addict to slip. And, as I said earlier, that would be something interesting because it would add another layer of conflict to Cody Paul’s story. As an actor you always want more and more conflict. The more adversity the better–it’s kind of like the opposite of real life. Haha.

There are daytime actors who like the freedom of being on recurring, but there are many who like the security of being on contract. If GH offered a long term contract to you, would you take it? And why or why not?

Of course I would take it. I just want to act. On a daily basis. If I get the chance to do that in Port Charles, I’m living my dream.

Besides GH, you have other projects you are working on or have done that will be airing in the coming months. What are those upcoming appearances where fans can see you next?

Well the first thing coming up will be Jim Carrey’s “Yes Man” releasing December 19th. That should be pretty darn funny. Then I’m Guest Starring in the first episode of the new season of “Burn Notice” (the #1 scripted show on cable) in January. Matt Nix, the creator of the show, said that the USA network is VERY happy with the episode and made it a point to say the performances are great. So I’m looking forward to seeing that–I haven’t yet. Then I’ll be playing another vampire in the season finale of the upcoming season of “Nip/Tuck.” As for pet projects I am writing and I also worked on a trailer with Kent King (GH’s Lainey). All that and continuing to be brought in to Port Charles every now and then.

Fan support is important to any daytime actor. Do you feel Cody Paul has left an impression with GH fans? Good or bad? Has the returned sparked more interest in him from fans?

Fan support IS important. Unbelievably. I get tons of love from all over America and Canada for Cody Paul via my MySpace page and GrahamShielsOnline. It’s all good, yo! The number one comment, far and away, is “When will you get back with Lainey?!!!” So I think people are very interested in seeing where it’ll go with Cody because they already know he has a rich history to dive into that could explode at any moment.

Graham is currently on recurring as Cody Paul on ABC’s General Hospital. He debuted as Cody Paul, a drug addicted war veteran who served his country in Iraq and had been dishonorably discharged. Cody came to Port Charles when he followed two of his army buddies, Logan Hayes (Josh Duhon) and Cooper Barrett (Jason Gerhart). After appearing on General Hospital:Night Shift during the summer of 2007, Cody Paul was sent to jail for murdering Dr. Lainey Winters’ father. After a few months off screen, Cody Paul has returned and has kicked the drug habit, and was working on the docks as a forklift operator. Thinking he could help the local mobster Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) by keeping him informed of an activity down on the docks, Cody went to Jason with information regarding Russian mobster Karpov. He has gained the trust of Jason Morgan and is currently working as a bodyguard/informant for Morgan’s organization.
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Keep up to date on what’s going with Graham by visiting his official MySpace page  or stopping by Graham Shiels Online. You can check out all of Graham’s demo reels at Reel Access.

For Reprint of this Interview, please contact  Jennifer Synder/Senior News Editor @ Soap Opera Source

 Source

Graham Shiels Interview

Graham Shiels played the role of Liam in Season 1 of HBO True Blood and was recently interviewed by Jamie Steinberg at the Starry Constellation Magazine. In this interviews, Graham talks about the character of Liam and filming True Blood.

Q) Please tell us about your character Liam on the show “True Blood.”

A) I will be in the second and third episode. I did the seventh episode, too. That’s exciting! I think it’s been getting some good buzz and some good press. In the fictional world of how Alan Ball (the creator and writer) sees vampires and how the author (Charlaine Harris) of the book series see it, the age you were and the clothes you wore from the time you died is who you are. Together with the wardrobe designer, they figured Liam was just an aspiring punk-rocker from the 80’s. He’s not very fashionable. That’s when Liam got bit and became a vampire. Liam hangs out with these other vampires Malcolm and Diane. The three of them aren’t so happy about the synthetic blood because they still like the real stuff. They think they’re above the vampire law and the American Constitution. They just kind of take what they want.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) Alan Ball just has such great taste. American Beauty is most people’s favorite film and certainly is one of mine. His aesthetic and his taste are so exquisite. He’s funny and there are just not many writers like him. Any kind of vampire thing could be taken as gore for gore’s sake or horror for horror’s sake. You knew with Alan Ball there would be a sense of intelligence about it. That was very intriguing. It was basically a dream role to be able to play something fantastic, a vampire in the world of…Well, I’m not going to compare Alan Ball to Shakespeare, but I don’t know that there are many better writers out there in terms of his taste, I find. It was like a dream project. Really, I think probably if you were to ask anybody (Anna Paquin or anyone) they’d give you the same answer. It basically would be doing like “Power Rangers” written by Shakespeare. It’s like doing something really goofy and really fun, but like doing it exquisitely.

Read More from the Source

Ryan Kwanten Interview

Ryan Kwanten plays Jason Stackhouse on the HBO hit show True Blood. Ryan Kwanten takes time out to answers questions from True Blood fans!

Nelsan Ellis Interview

Nelson Ellis known as Lafayette Reynolds, the flamboyant short-order cook at Merlottes’s took the time to talk about his work on True Blood and how he became an actor. Read the full article by Andrew Herrmann from The Chicago-Sun Times provides the report.

Nelson Ellis Report from The Chicago-Sun Times

Sam Trammell Interview

Exclusive Interview: Sam Trammell of ‘True Blood’

“How did the role on True Blood come about, and what was that audition process like for you?

Sam: Well, I had been hearing about it for a while from my agent, this script by Alan Ball that HBO was going to be doing. I got it and read it — I was already interested even before I read it, but I read it and thought it was amazing. I basically went in and auditioned with one of the casting directors on tape. I think Alan was in New York, he was out of town, so they showed him the tape and then Alan decided he wanted to test me. I don’t know if you know that word, but it’s when you do your final audition in front of HBO. He decided he wanted to do that so that was great, and he wanted to meet with me beforehand. I went to his office and met with him, and kind of read the scenes with him and he gave me some notes. I think he showed me the first two scripts as well. Then I went and did the audition for HBO and I found out that I got it the same day. I was like screaming in the car, I was thrilled.”
By Don WIlliams
BuddyTV
Full Article:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/exclusive-interview-sam-tramme-24734.aspx

Rutina Wesley-Things Are About To Get Real Krunk!

“True Blood” Star (Rutina Wesley): “Things Are About To Get Real Krunk!”

“PW: Will we see that start to happen in the last two episodes?
Rutina: You’re going to see Tara come to the end of this journey with her anger demon. The car crash represents a fork in the road and now we need to watch and see if she goes left or right, because, let’s face it – she’s hit rock bottom. I mean, that dress and side ponytail alone is rock bottom! [laughs] Oh, I loved it, loved it!”
by Jarett Wieselman
NY Post PopWrap
Full Article:
http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2008/11/true_blood_spoi.html

Ryan Kwanten’s Blood Runs Cold

Ryan Kwanten’s Blood Runs Cold

“The real-life Kwanten is a stark contrast to Jason Stackhouse, his character on True Blood, the HBO vampire drama from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball. The actor agrees, admitting that he has very little in common with the “modern-day, redneck Casanova” he plays on the show.

“He has no willpower; he has an addiction complex; he has an insecurity complex,” Kwanten says. “But I think everyone knows someone like Jason – well, maybe not to the full extreme of the trouble that he gets himself into.”
By Kat Angus
DOSE.CA

Full Article:
http://www.dose.ca/tv/story.html?id=55b13e99-3ce0-4687-9f4e-2a3ae41958eb

Alexander Skarsgard Interview

Alexander Skarsgard is one of the hot new vampires from HBO’s breakout hit True Blood. As we gear up for the season finale, Alexander Skarsgard takes questions from True Blood Fans!