Stephen Moyer Interviewed by Wired UK

The actors on True Blood all gush about how much fun it is being on the show. When interviewed by Wired UK, Stephen Moyer talked about the excitement of playing Bill Compton, but he also showed that he has thought deeply about the thematic significance of the show and the heightened expectations now that True Blood is HBO's new hit series. The success adds pressure, but through it all, Stephen says that everyone still loves the work they're doing:

"There is a pressure. You can't forget that the two shows that AMC makes are the biggest Emmy winners this year [Mad Men, Breaking Bad]. You can't pretend that that isn't the case, but I think that Alan Ball thrives on that pressure. I think that our show can only get better. I don't worry at all. It's the only show I've ever worked on where every single member of our crew and the actors, 18 hours into a normal work day, on week 17, when the new episode comes in a brown envelope, everyone tears it open and reads it in-between their breaks. It's exciting to be part of it."

The fans are crazy about True Blood, which just contributes to the current trend of vampires in pop culture. Stephen has no doubt been asked hundreds of times what makes vampires so hot right now, and he offers up his theory:

"I have read a lot of interesting things about the fact that when society is in recession, people want to escape from their world and they don't want to escape to a world that they know; they want to go somewhere different and, therefore, supernatural stories take on a stronger meaning because we are looking for a reason of why things are going badly."

When asked what it is about British actors that they portray vampires so well, he thinks that the classical training they get in drama school helps them hold themselves in a different way, to indicate those centuries of age and experience that vampires often have. Stephen likes the way that Alan Ball, his executive producer on True Blood, uses the show as a forum to discuss meaningful social issues:

"Alan takes this idea of the outsider coming into the world and how everybody reacts to that outsider. The metaphor is about someone who is a pariah in society trying to prove he is not what people think he is and this can be a metaphor for homosexuality, the black and white civil rights movement, or any minority that you want to bring to the table."

True Blood can combine entertainment with a message. As the show is reaching millions of people, it can make them think about some of the parallels layered beneath the supernatural world of telepaths, vampires, and the whole host of strange creatures. Beyond just doing his job and acting the words in the script, Stephen clearly values the nuances of the story they are telling with True Blood. His portrayal of Bill is subtle but powerful, and it's nice to read interviews where you can see some of the thought process going on between that intense blue-eyed stare! SOURCE: wired.co.uk (Photo credit: Matt Sayles / AP)

http://truebloodnet.com http://truebloodnet.com/community http://truebloodnet.com/forums