Anna Paquin is Sookie on "True Blood"

"True Blood" is an HBO series this Fall (debut Sept 7th) based on the popular Southern Vampire Mysteries books by Charlaine Harris and adapted for television by Alan Ball who created "Six Feet Under" for TV. Anna Paquin [of X-Men fame] plays telepathic waitress heroine Sookie Stackhouse and, in a near future era where vampires walk among us and drink synthetic Tru-Blood, she's in love with 173-year-old, and still hot vampire Bill Compton. You can imagine the dramatic possibilities inherent in that scenario.

We wanted to know about Sookie, the series and what is up with Anna so we tracked her down in Beverly Hills to ask. Picture the usually brunette actress now very blonde for her role, dressed in a classy black and gray crepe dress with black patent leather heels and belt. We start off rather playfully....

TeenTelevision: First off, how are you around blood? Some people are squeamish.

Anna: [laughs] Totally fine.

TeenTelevision: And, do you believe vampires exist?

Anna: No!

TeenTelevision: Why do you think people are so fascinated with them and why does Sookie like Bill in the show in particular?

Anna: They're sexy! They're dangerous. What girl doesn't like the bad boy? It's the unknown, it's mysterious. He's from another time. He's experienced things that she can't even imagine and seen whole lifetimes of things and she's lived in one small town for her entire life. The big thing is she's telepathic but she can't hear his thoughts so it's very peaceful around him.

TeenTelevision: How is the love story of Sookie and vampire Bill [played by Stephen Moyer] going to develop?

Anna: Well, obviously, there's an immediate fascination and attraction between Bill and Sookie if for no other reason than anyone else is terrified of him and she's just dying to go up and take his drink order. And we do get to see the roller coaster of that relationship because, obviously, as the [tag line] of the book would suggest, having a vampire as a boyfriend isn't always the simplest of things to choose. So I don't know how to say much more about it without giving away the plot.

TeenTelevision: Fair enough. Are there any parallels between this and other kinds of forbidden relationships you might have heard about or played?

Anna: None off the top of my head, where the entire community is shunning us.

TeenTelevision: It's kind of a theme.

Anna: Well sure. Romeo and Juliet anyone?

TeenTelevision: What qualities do you look for in a man, personally?

Anna: I don't have a type. I like smart people. I like nice people. I like good people.

TeenTelevision: Okay, getting serious, how does the part of Sookie stack up against some of the roles you've taken in the past?

Anna: Without slamming anything else I've ever done, I've never wanted anything more and I fought hard to get this part and I absolutely love it and I work with some of the most talented people I've ever worked with.

TeenTelevision: Sookie is a strong, yet vulnerable young woman. What do you think makes her such an interesting character?

Anna: I think she's so many things in one person. She's tough and she's courageous and she's smart, but she's sweet and she's innocent and she's naive and she's quite sheltered yet she is completely open-minded, which, in her very small town, is a little bit less common. There's just something about that level of enthusiasm that she has for things that are new and things that are exciting as opposed to being frightened that I think is really appealing.

TeenTelevision: Were you looking for a series or this just came your way and you had to take it?

Anna: 'Had to take it?' I had to audition for it [laughs]. I had to go kick some doors down but I have always been impressed with the series work that HBO does. I'd done a film for them a year and a half or so ago ["Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee"] and had an amazing experience and it's extraordinary to get to carry on with a character the way we do on a series that you just never get to do in film. That's really exciting. I love my job. I love getting into the texture of every character and the relationships. It's just such a beautiful thing to get to continue it.

TeenTelevision: Did you read scary books or see a lot of horror or fantasy films growing up?

Anna: No. I get nightmares. I'm not into that really.

TeenTelevision: Sookie wears a lot of short skirts and shorts on the show. What do you think of her wardrobe?

Anna: My wardrobe is awesome! I'm practically naked the entire time. What's not to love? [laughs, she's kidding]. No! That took a little bit of getting used to. But, they also give me this nice spray tan so I feel like I'm sort of wearing an extra layer of clothing that's actually not really there. I did feel quite naked. I bought a lot of little tiny shorts to wear around before I got on set because it's really weird. You really feel like you're wearing your underwear for the first week that you're in hot pants.

TeenTelevision: Do you have a workout routine to fit into those skimpy clothes?

Anna: [laughs] I've always been really active but come on, it becomes bikini season all year long. What girl would not spend a considerable amount of time making sure that, to the best of one's ability, you feel comfortable in your own skin? I just work out, go to the gym. I run. I box. I do Pilates. I take dance class. I like doing stuff and I'm learning to skateboard which is actually a lot harder than it looks but it's fun!

TeenTelevision: We are used to you as a brunette. How are you liking the blonde hair?

Anna: I love it. Boys like to stare at blonde girls. Apparently it's totally true, so it's amusing and quite lovely. Boys like blonde girls. Who knew [laughing]?

TeenTelevision: It's kind of a United Nations on "True Blood". You've got a New Zealander, an Australian, and English folks on the show.

Anna: Yeah and we have a Swede. We're a very multi-cultural cast. I think it's really great!

TeenTelevision: And do people have trouble with the [Southern] or other accents?

Anna: No because we're all having to do it and you are hearing it [spoken around you]. We have great dialect coaches but now we don't really use them anymore. There is a kind of music to the Southern dialect that is very much, from my outsider perspective, obviously, a product of that sort of very hot, very laid back at times, environment. And things move at a different pace, which doesn't mean that it's not really exciting and scary and fast-paced at times. But that was a huge part of becoming the character.

TeenTelevision: Did you have any preconceived notions about what Southern women in the states were like?

Anna: I've spent some time in the South, not a great deal. I've watched a lot of films. A lot of her "Sookie-ness" is written into the books and that was very helpful.

TeenTelevision: What is it like on set when you are supposed to be reading minds? Is it just quiet?

Anna: For the first couple of episodes, I just felt like a massive idiot because I'm sitting there thinking 'what does someone look like when they're reading someone's mind and you're trying to make sure everyone doesn't know that you're reading their mind'? I usually have someone read the lines off camera for timing and also so that you're not just standing there staring blankly like a big dummy. Now, we're all used to it so we have this routine now.

TeenTelevision: Are you living in L.A. now?

Anna: Well, I'm staying here in L.A. and I don't have a place in New York anymore where I was living for eight years because my lease was up when I came out here. I'm kind of homeless... no, that has a garbage bag connotation, big cardboard box. I'm a gypsy. It's all I've ever done. I don't have a lot of stuff [to move around].

TeenTelevision: What are you watching on TV now?

Anna: I just learned how to use my DVR and download stuff on i-tunes. But, I'm not usually actually home when stuff is on TV. I'm usually behind. I do love the Holly Hunter series ["Saving Grace"]. I'm usually a few seasons behind. I downloaded the whole first season. I went back to New Zealand during the [Writer's] strike and watched it. I hating waiting until the next week. I'm not patient in that way. I'm not into that.

TeenTelevision: You won an Oscar so young [for The Piano]. Does that really set the bar for everything else you do?

Anna: I get to play with really awesome, talented, interesting people and have a career that I find exciting and I got to jump to the head of the queue when I was eleven so that's great.

TeenTelevision: Where do you keep your Oscar now that you are a gypsy?

Anna: It's at my brother's house.... I think. I'm pretty sure.

TeenTelevision: And are you ready for the crazy fans of "True Blood"?

Anna: How is having people who are really excited about your show ever a bad thing? I mean, come on. That's what you hope that a show is going to have, and if they are already there, waiting to be really excited, then awesome.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.