Truly, Madly, Deadly_ The Unofficial True Blood Companion - Becca Wilcott [25]
Upon seeing the script for True Blood, Kwanten says the devil-may-care character of Jason stood out to him. “[Jason] just tends to fly by the seat of his pants, and I tend to be far too cerebral . . . It’s been nice to throw out the textbook and what I thought I knew about acting and life and just go ‘OK, this is what I am going to do,’ and just do it.”
What didn’t register immediately with Kwanten was the massive fandom already surrounding the Sookie Stackhouse novels as the team headed into production. “There are otherworldly things that may or may not exist, and I think that level of intrigue is always kind of sexy and mysterious . . . [But] we shot the first season not really knowing what to expect. It’s sort of like you’re raising a baby, and the baby turns eighteen, and it’s time to give it out to the world . . . Fortunately, people seem to like [the series]. We got lucky.”
He has, however, understood the crossover appeal of the series from one nation to the next, and from one demographic to another. “Australians are a little more open-minded when it comes to things like sex and body. But Americans, I feel, are probably more used to the violence, and even the supernatural elements. So, the great thing about [True Blood] is that it doesn’t limit itself to one particular genre. It can go from comedy to supernatural to thriller to drama, all in the space of an episode, catering to not just different demographics but different cultures, too.”
So, how does this “cerebral” Aussie feel about the amount of screen time dedicated to his physical attributes, not to mention some of the steamiest sex this side of pay-per-view cable? “When you’ve got guys like Alan Ball writing the scripts, it’s never going to be nudity for nudity’s sake. It always comes from a really strong story point. If I get nervous about it, I try to offset that onto the character . . . but Jason’s so comfortable with his body, it’s just part and parcel with who he is.”
Fans of Jason Stackhouse know he’s more than skin deep — as beautiful as that skin may be — at times, providing some of the most stunningly simple, straightforward know-how of any of the characters, lessons that Kwanten has picked up on, too. “Without sounding too ‘actory,’ . . . [I’ve] opened up parts of myself that I never knew existed. Just in terms of letting things go and not letting every little thing get to me. . . . Life is too short to worry about stuff.”
(Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos)
Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton)
“She’s just this little flower, this wounded child that needs to be taken care of. And that’s where the mouth is coming from, and all that quickfire language.”
— Rutina Wesley on Tara Thornton
“School is just for white people looking for other white people to read to ’em; I figured I’d save my money and read to myself.”
— Tara Thornton
Rutina Wesley seems bred for show business. With only a handful of acting credits under her belt when she was cast in True Blood, Wesley had already spent her life surrounded by the performing arts. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Wesley’s father is a professional tap dancer, and her mother was a showgirl. Rutina is married to fellow actor Jacob Fishel.
“I was born to be on stage,” Wesley confesses. “[As a child,] I loved storytelling. I was always making up stuff. I feel like that was my path.”
Growing up, she attended the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts and studied dance at Simba Studios before being accepted on a full scholarship into the University of Evansville in Indiana where she received a BFA in theater performance. It was an opportunity she was initially hesitant to take out of a concern that there would be an absence of minorities. Not only was she the only black