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Askmen.com: As the new season of True Blood flows on, Paquin flourishes as the show’s central character, Sookie Stackhouse. In the books written by Charlaine Harris, everything plays out via Stackhouse’s first person experience, placing Paquin’s performance as an essential cornerstone of the TV adaptation.
Away from the set, Anna Paquin discussed life as the star of a cult hit and how she sees the role of Stackhouse against the backdrop of her already long career.
Sookie Stackhouse is a strong, stubborn woman. While most ladies would get out of Dodge on the Bayou when surrounded by vampires and Skinwalkers, your character endures and involves herself with them further. What about her keeps her mixed up with the monsters?
Anna Paquin : I like Sookie. She’s someone who can get things done — a good person to have in your corner. And, if she wasn’t so stubborn, the show would be a hell of a lot more boring because she wouldn’t be in such constant danger and in need of rescuing.
How do you see her evolving as True Blood develops?
AP : As a woman, I think she’s sending away all of the gentlemen callers beating down her door and is out on her own. She’s accepted whatever that means, whatever that brings. That means she’s more open to things happening to her.
Your character has a lot of kindness — a lot of determination to do good. Is there something innate in you that brings that to Sookie?
AP : It’s the character. In fact, if there would be some motivated reason for her to go through some sort of transformation, I’d welcome that. I’d want to build that into who she is. You’re always trying to incorporate whatever changes they bring to the show into who the character is.
Is there anything thrown at you for Sookie that you think is too out there or too silly — even for a vampire show?
AP : It’s not the kind of show where you can really make those sort of judgments. It’s a world where anything can happen. And I can’t think of anything that we could try that would strike me as too crazy. Sure, some things from episode to episode might be odd and unexpected. Fortunately, no one involved with these stories suffers from a lack of imagination.
You’re the star of a cult show with a fanatical following — the Comic-Con crowd in full effect. What’s it like dealing with that?
AP : I wasn’t prepared for it at first. In fact, I was amazed at the following the show developed before it even aired. There was an incredible buzz about the show — an anticipation before it even went out on air. It was mind-blowing then, and still is for me.
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