The anticipation surrounding
True Blood's
Season 3 premiere continues to grow and with the script being so highly shrouded in secrecy, fans have been given only a few tidbits of information to remain satiated. A few things are certain though: we'll get to see some of our
Season 1 and
Season 2 favorites as well as be introduced to a slew of new cast members. Tony-award nominated actor
Denis O'Hare will be introduced during
Season 3 as the 2,700-2,800 year old
Vampire King of Mississippi,
Russell Edgington.
Denis sat down with
Deeper Dish to talk about his film and Broadway career, as well as playing
Russell on
True Blood. As a fan of
True Blood,
Denis claims that
Russell Edgington is not a villain, but describes him as "charming" and "persuasive".
Denis worked with
Alan Ball to conceive of
Russell's evolution and how he would be portrayed on
True Blood.
"Initially Alan [Ball] told me that Russell was pretty old and was very charming and had a southern accent. We decided eventually that Russell was older than the character of Godric and so that puts him at around the 2700-2800-year-old mark - he was "made" sometime in 800 BC. He's an ancient Celt. The Celts originated in the Carpathian mountains and then started migrating West in search of the bed of the sun. In 55 BC they were defeated by Julius Caesar in Gaul. So, obviously, Russell has worn many masks and his latest "incarnation" as a southern gentleman is just another mask."
Fittingly, as the oldest
vampire that has been introduced on
True Blood so far,
Russell offers
Bill some love advice based on his own 700-year-old relationship with his boyfriend,
Talbot. Although slightly elusive,
Denis says that his character,
Russell, tells
Bill to "spend eternity together- that's commitment!" With the
Vampire King of Mississippi wearing so many masks,
Denis appear to be a great fit.
Denis began his acting career in Chicago where he attended Northwestern University and later moved to New York in 1992. From there, he has continued to shine on stage and screen and has starred in the films
The Anniversary Party (2001),
Milk (2008),
Edge of Darkness (2010), the television series
Brothers & Sisters, the Broadway musicals
Cabaret (1998),
Sweet Charity (2005), and received a Tony award nomination for his role in
Assassins (2004).
Denis has so far filmed two episodes of
True Blood, but hopes to remain part of the cast noting that "if
True Blood sees fit to keep me around, I'd love to continue working with those wonderful people." The
Deeper Dish article includes a series of videos and a fun game of random questions/responses with Denis, highlighting his quick wit and some of the fun we can hopefully expect from
Russell Edgington. SOURCE:
Deeper Dish (Photo credit: IMDb.com)
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Nelsan Ellis who portrays the flamboyant short-order cook, Lafayette Reynolds, on Alan Ball hit HBO TV series True Blood joined other celebrities including cast members from Twilight in the "Twilight FanTrips' Vampire Baseball Cajun-Style" game at the Zephyr Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, March 20 , 2010. Fortunately someone finally put up video clips of Nelsan play at the games so we can all enjoy seeing him participating in a worthy cause. Many thanks to femmeacadienne for posting these on YouTube. All us True Blood fans are grateful to you! Enjoy! Nelsan gets a hit. Nelsan on first base. Nelsan runs to second base. Nelsan trying to steal third base. Nelsan in the outfield. Nelsan gives a shout out to True Blood fans. SOURCE: femmeacadienne on YouTube (Photo credit: timessquaregossip.com) 
