If you were 17 years-old and suddenly became a vampire what would you do? That’s the exact scenario Deborah Ann Woll’s character Jessica Hamby found herself in on True Blood when the show first started in 2008. But with season 4, a whole year has passed and for Jessica it means lots of change. Deborah recently chatted with NY Magazine blog Vulture to discuss that change, her character’s relationship to Stephen Moyer’s Bill Compton, and the possibility of new love on the horizon.
Jessica’s maker Bill has gone through a lot of change as well this season because he becomes King of Louisiana. So what does Deborah think of the new Bill and what does it mean for their relationship?
“He’s under incredible pressure. And he has some incredibly powerful people making decisions for him. I think Bill is as disappointed with that as we are. Bill is really alone now. He doesn’t have a family except Jess, and I think it’s really wonderful that this season they get to [bond] quite a bit. Because things aren’t going so great with [her human boyfriend] Hoyt (Jim Parrack), [Bill] is all that she has.”
That’s not strictly true anymore. In the last couple of episodes, we’ve seen some interesting things happen between Jessica and Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten). Something that Deborah is quite excited about especially considering that things aren’t going well with Hoyt who in spite of his open mindedness wants things that Jessica cannot and doesn’t want to give him. It’s definitely a sad situation. But par for the course for a teenage vampire. As for Deborah, she wasn’t nearly as rebellious as her character growing up:
“No, I was not. This character is fun because it’s a very safe place to act out. I was a very shy, very quiet little girl. I was bullied a lot and really didn’t feel attractive. Being so pale and so blonde, I just disappeared, so I started dying my hair red when I was about 14. And I rebelled against my peers. I never once experimented with a drug. I was a theater geek. I had piano lessons, theater rehearsals, dance.”
From there the discussion moved from teen rebellion to blood. Jessica cries quite a bit on the show and that can be problematic at times for Woll who has been told at times to cry but not let any tears show because they get replaced digitally with blood tears and if she actually cries, it’s harder to match the blood tears in post production. But she says that they tried wet blood mixed with diluted mascara on camera this season so she hopes the audience will like it because Jessica is crying a lot more before the season is out.
The interview closed with a question about Deborah’s wierdest request at Comic Con last month which is also par for the course when you’re on a vampire show:
“It’s really when you and another celebrity are in the room — it’s like, “Oh, you should bite him!” I’m like, “Well, I don’t know him. Maybe he’s uncomfortable with me biting him.” But they want the photo op. I allow too much of it. We’ve been talking about what kind of boundaries I should have with that. Because I’m pretty much, “OKAY!”
To read this interview in its entirity please click here.
Source: NYMag.com: Vulture- “True Blood’s Deborah Ann Woll on Vampire Tears, Jason Stackhouse, and Her Real-Life Teen Rebellion.”
Image Credit: HBO, Inc.
