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(1998), A Walk on the Moon (1999), All the Rage (1999), Almost Famous (2000), and Finding Forrester (2000). But it was a role as a mutant that would catapult Paquin back into the spotlight. Paquin had been cast as Rogue in the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Marvel Comics title X-Men, following the exploits of a team of superheroes known for their mutant powers. Rogue has remained one of the most popular of the X-Men characters since the 1980s, landing at #3 on Marvel’s list of Top 10 Toughest Females for 2009. Unlike most of the other mutants, Rogue is plagued by her powers, which she sees as a curse. She absorbs the memories, physical strength, and powers of those she comes into contact with. This power can prove fatal to those she touches.

By this time, Paquin had moved to New York where she’d been accepted into Columbia University. She took a break from acting to study liberal arts. “[I]t was the first time I’d ever not worked. So, what did I do? I handed my papers in on time. I went to seminars. I had time to go shopping and socialize with people my own age.” It wouldn’t be long, however, before Paquin was back on set and on stage, leaving Columbia after one year of study to appear on Broadway in The Glory of Living, directed by Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, and on film in The Squid and the Whale (2005). She then reprised her role as Rogue in the 2003 and 2006 X-Men sequels.

While Paquin is known as one of the most hardworking and professional young actors in the business, it’s doubtful that clairvoyance shows up anywhere among her skill sets, or that she possessed the foreknowledge that her career was about to ascend to new heights, portraying the telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Paquin also pursued a surprising romantic development with her co-star Stephen Moyer, who portrays her on-screen love interest, Vampire Bill.

Taking the role also meant a move to television, something that Paquin took easily in stride. “It never occurred to me that one form of acting was better than another. I think if you approach your career like that you’re limiting yourself to a very boring path. For me, it’s about the material.”

That Paquin has such clear respect for the character of Sookie, and the challenges that come with playing her, is good news for audiences who would like to see Sookie, and Paquin, on television for many years to come. Paquin understands the appeal: “[Sookie’s] so many things in one person. She’s tough, and she’s courageous, and she’s smart, but she’s sweet, and she’s innocent, and she’s naive . . . and she is completely open-minded, which, in her very small town, is a little bit less common, and there’s just something about that level of enthusiasm that she has for things that are new, and things that are exciting, as opposed to being frightened . . . I mean, those are the things I love about her.”

Does knowing that Sookie will be in Bon Temps for some time to come — we hope! — or the happiness she’s found in her engagement to Stephen Moyer, have Paquin thinking about settling down? “I don’t want to disappear. I’m done with that. I don’t want to be a transient figure in my own life anymore.”

(Byron Purvis/Keystone Press)

Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton)

“You’ve got immortality, you’ve got blood and you’ve got sharp, pointed teeth making a hole and sucking from it — that’s sexy, man.”

— Stephen Moyer

“. . . [A]s I have more than 100 years on you, I do not take kindly to you calling me ‘son.’ So the next time you pull somebody over on suspicion of bein’ a vampire, you better pray to God that you’re wrong. Because that vampire may not be as kind to you as I’m about to be. I’m not gonna kill you. But I am gonna keep your gun. Does that sound fair?”

— Bill Compton, glamouring a police officer

“Oh, I’m Team Bill all the way. I’m Stephen Moyer all the way! I love that man!”

— Michelle Forbes

Stephen Moyer was born Stephen John Emery on October 11, 1969, in Brentwood, Essex, UK, where he attended St. Martin’s School. A suburban town surrounded by