Kristin Bauer van Straten Wows Australia

Talking About True Blood and Her Co-Stars

Kristin Bauer van Straten was in Australia recently and talked with the Sydney Star Observer about her co-stars Ryan Kwanten and Nelsan Ellis, her character on HBO's True Blood and whaling. Though Australia hosts a lot of celebrities seeking a relaxing vacation, Bauer van Straten was there on assignment. In her role as an ambassador for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), she took journalists on a whale watching cruise. She was quite happy to hear that Australia was a leader in the effort to end whaling saying:

"I'm meeting up withSam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), Todd Lowe (Terry Bellefleur) and John Billingsly (Mike Spencer) from the show, but I came a little early to see Sydney and Melbourne and to do a day with IFAW to bring attention to the whaling issue down here — which is something I've learned Australians are leading the way on and setting quite a high bar in the world."

On True Blood and Her Character

For Kristin one of the best parts of being on the HBO series is that the show is willing to push boundaries and make the audience think. She noted,

"The King of Mississippi — played by Denis O'Hare, a phenomenal actor — says the human race is going to become extinct and the vampires are going to lose their food supply. So there's the issue of how we deal with having seven billion people on the planet. It's really great to be part of a show that not only looks amazing but is also so intelligent."

When asked about playing Pam, Kristin said she is thrilled to be playing an unapologetic character who doesn't have a hint of political correctness or apology in her, and that Pam's sexuality is simply another way of illuminating the social world. While playing a bisexual vampire may not be a problem for Kristin, speaking in Swedish sure is. She notes that Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman) has been her dialect coach on the set saying:

"In the script it will say 'will be in Swedish' and my heart stops. I call Alexand in this wonderful world of Apple he records my lines in Swedish on his iPhone and emails them to me. That goes onto my iPod and I listen to Alex speaking my lines for two or three weeks and I repeat them hundreds of times. In those scenes instead of looking to the director I look at Alex after every take to see if I've gotten it right. For me its memorizing gibberish so it's slightly nerve wracking."

On Nelsan Ellis and Ryan Kwanten

Kristin is used to working with Alexander Skarsgard, given that their characters are so involved on the show, but one actor that really stands out for her is Nelsan Ellis who plays Lafayette Reynold. She says that watching Ellis, a heterosexual with small children, transform seamlessly into a flamboyant gay drug dealer is an experience in itself. She also notes that Ryan Kwanten isn't anything like his character Jason Stackhouse. He's quite a gentleman and very romantic. Kwanten bonded with Kristin's husband Abri van Straten after the two talked about the love story between van Straten and Kristin. Don't let this fool you though. It seems Kwanten is also a prankster who put fart powder in the drinks of everyone during a trip to Las Vegas. While Kwanten may be known for his jokes, Kristin is known for not only being a wonderful actress, but also for being an amazing human being dedicated to the safety of humanity and all the earth's creatures. Source: www.starobserver.com.au — Taking a bite out of Australia (Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)

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