Allan Hyde Said Godric Has to Ooze a Calm Confidence

How do you immitate someone who is 2000 years old?  You have to make it believable and emanate an aura of confidence and authority.  That's what Allan Hyde told True-Blood.org. It's what he tried to do in his portrayal of Godric, True Blood's oldest vampire from Season 2.

"I looked at how the elderly react and interact with other people - they ooze a calm confidence without forcing anything on anyone - they will set an example and expect it to be followed."

When asked how he felt about Godric's suicide last season, Allan said he understands the rationale although it's hard to validate.  He had lived longer than his share of life but with suicide there are other people involved.  "It's a selfish thing to do and Godric hurts people and who knows what's to be of Eric now without an ideal?" Asked if there were things in his own life that he shares with his character, Allan said yes, but on a much smaller scale.

"I have experienced having an epiphany, if you may, about stuff I had been doing that was not nice at all.  This I applied in the character and intensified out of proportions."

It wasn't until after he was offered the role that Allan discovered how huge the HBO series was.  Not having heard of the show or the book series True Blood is based on, he was astounded by the popularity. Allan had stated before that the cast of True Blood made it very easy for him to settle in.  But trying to portray the calmness and confidence of his character while admiring and trying to impress everyone around him was "nerve-racking and borderline terrifying". On top of everything else, Allan, like the other cast members, found it difficult to talk with fangs.  Besides having to get used to those extra long, pointy teeth in his mouth, Allan also had to speak Swedish with fangs, a language foreign to him (Allan is Danish). Has playing Godric brough fame to Allan?  He said he can still "walk around unnoticed" but occasionally "someone will introduce themselves and we will talk for a second".  And although his mother will send him online links to read once in a while,

"I think it's best not to look at it too much.  You don't want to get a big head or have people ruin your confidence.  But it's nice when people say nice things."

On ending the interview, Allan said thank you to his fans for being supportive of him and Godric.  That support has helped bring him back into Season 3.  And who knows, maybe he'll get a chance for an appearance next season as well. Source:  true-blood.org (Photo credit - Miklos Stabos via true-blood.org)

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