Article on Variety By SANDIE ANGULO CHEN
When Stephen Moyer auditioned in London for the HBO drama “True Blood,” the Englishman didn’t know whether he could pull off the accent needed to play Bill Compton, a 170-year-old Louisiana vampire.
“I hadn’t done a Southern accent since I pretended to be a cowboy when I was 7,” Moyer recalls. “I hadn’t practiced at home, because I’d literally gotten the script the night before, but when I opened my mouth when we were doing the take, it was just kind of there.”
After reading Alan Ball’s pilot script, about Louisiana bayou dwellers co-existing uneasily with the undead, Moyer believed that the show — an adaptation of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels — was “landmark television.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t really surprised by the show’s success, because I knew Alan was creating the kind of stuff I’d personally be interested in watching,” he says.
Many fans seem most interested in Moyer’s feverish chemistry with co-star Anna Paquin, who plays ingenue protagonist Sookie, a human who can read everyone’s mind except his.
“I honestly think whether the attraction is there or not, you have to create it,” he says. “I’m lucky because with Anna it’s there.”
In fact, the onscreen lovers developed an offscreen relationship early during the first season, although they didn’t tell the crew until “around the 10th episode.”
“We didn’t want it to look like our relationship was some sort of cheap attempt to get publicity, because it never was,” he says.
Not that his relationship with Paquin in any way deters bloodthirsty fans from asking for a bite.
“I get the Robert Pattinson leave-offs,” Moyer says with a laugh, referring to the young star of the hugely popular “Twilight” vampire movie franchise. “The ones who get to a certain point and think he’s a boy. There’s the Pattinson gang and the Moyer gang.”
What do you like most about your character?
“I love that he has 170 years of experience to draw on, and I like the idea that he’s read every book and learned every language and learned all the music that he was never able to learn when he was alive. I love his longevity and maturity.”
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Stephen is such a rascal!
With regard to his remarks about the “boy” vampire it seems clear that he likes to stir up a little playful controversy. He must be so much fun to be around. A real hoot.
Just another reason he makes me smile.
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There is a great article on MSNBC.com about the difference between Twilight and True Blood. I wouldnt say that I am a Pattinson leave-off but definitely am in the Moyer gang!
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i love the comments he’s been making about twilight lately wether it be a teasing diss or saying that both franchises give each other a boost. he knows this comparison isn’t going away anytime soon, he is dealing with the comparisons very gracefully. i would be like “seriously, again???!!!”
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MsTortilla Reply:
June 12th, 2009 at 2:05
Me too! I like how he tries to say that the “vampire thing” has never really gone away to try to sidestep the comparsions of two things that dont have very much in common.
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Another lovely interview! and I think SM is right that the two shows cater to a different demographic. But I also think that this is all that need be said about it – it seems like a better strategy to just let the fans battle it out IMHO. That seems like it has been Alan Ball’s strategy for the most part.
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In one of his interviews Stephen said that the shows give each other a bump. Good all around for the genre, whether you’re a fan of True Blood or Twilight. I enjoy both, but it’s like 85 per cent TB and 15 per cent Twilight. Another delightful interview by a very charming man.
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Edited for spoilers
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Calibelle…in the future, could you please not put spoilers in the comments without labeling them as spoilers? I am pretty bummed that I read your comment, especially as it didn’t have anything do do with the article in question.
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Shadaliza Reply:
June 12th, 2009 at 7:51
NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS PLEASE!!!
THANK YOU
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Calibelle Reply:
June 12th, 2009 at 18:07
Yeah after I read it I wanted to edit it and put a big SPOILER ALERT before it, but I couldn’t go back and edit it. So sorry!
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I love what Stephen loves about his character. He’s so rich, with so much potential for future stories concerning his pre-Sookie life. We want to know every last thing about him.
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