How the True Blood Cast Perfect Their Southern Accents

Liz Himelstein, Dialect Coach Extraordinaire, Reveals the Secrets Behind the True Blood Accent

True Blood cast members hail from places all around the world, not that you can tell from their perfect Southern accents thanks to Liz Himelstein their dialect coach. Recently, Himelstein, who has 20 years experience in film and theater under her belt, opened up to CNN about how the cast manages to sound perfectly at home in Bon Temps. In the interview, Himelstein revealed she had Stephen Moyer, True Blood's Bill,  listen to propriety recordings of older men from the South to help him develop the antiquated Southern drawl women have fallen in love with. Anna Paquin, who plays Sookie, listened to poetry from the South. According to Himelstein, Paquin and Moyer took to their accents for the show quickly. For the show's pilot, Himelstein was impressed with the cast, who she says had fun working on their accents together. The secret to how the cast manages to keep their accents going? Alan Ball, creator of the show, who was born in Georgia. Ball writes in Southern dialect, which helps give the cast an idea of how they should sound. According to Himelstein, reading Ball's writing is like reading a piece of music, if you follow his rhythm, you won't get lost. Source: CNN.com -- How to talk like a vampire, and anyone else (Photo Credit: CNN)

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