Kristin Bauer van Straten at the 26th Annual Genesis Awards/Jason Merritt, Getty Images
Kristin Bauer van Straten is arguably one of the most beloved cast members on True Blood and her character Pamela Sywnford de Beaufort is one of the most popular characters on the HBO series. People actually get mad when she’s not on screen! That’s not an easy feat to achieve for any actor. But that’s just it, she’s not just any actor. In fact when she isn’t acting, Kristin can be found advocating for various animal and environmental issues, interacting with fans on Facebook or Twitter, working on a novel, doing appearances, and spending time with her husband, Abri van Straten and their four pets. And that’s just one day! When asking someone as busy and giving of their time as Kristin is for an interview, we knew it had to be good!
So in conjunction with our sister site Kristin Bauer Online, we decided to do something no True Blood fan site has done before; interview Kristin and Abri separately and together! In part one of our interview, we ask Kristin about everything under the sun from her latest projects to True Blood and more!
True Blood Fan Source and Kristin Bauer Online would like to take this time to thank Kristin and Abri for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer the plethora of questions we posed to them. We truly appreciate it and we are very excited to share their answers with our readers!
You seem have become a jack of all trades given that you are an actor, artist, jewelry designer, writer, and now a music video star. How did shooting the video go for you? Would you consider doing it again? (Maybe in Abri’s next video?)
“I would do it again – on such a fun, worthy project as this one was! Of course I’d love to be in an Abri video. He’s recording his next CD now, maybe he’ll let me audition.”
We’ve seen the lovely paintings you’ve done on your website. When you have the time to paint, what do you like to paint and have you been able to progress anymore towards having your own show?
”I need to be much more disciplined about doing my art. It seems to go by the wayside when I get caught up in shooting True Blood, which has been so much fun, and my causes and then just running a life! So it’s been too long…but it’s on the to-do list.”
John Singer Sargent's Daughters of Edward Darley Boit/JSS Gallery.org
Who are some of your favorite artists or are there any that inspire you?
“So many. John Singer Sargent is a favorite . I tend to prefer a very realistic style but Abri has made me appreciate the impressionists more like Monet, and Toulouse-Lautrec.”
You’ve played a variety of roles over the years both in television and film very successfully. Has True Blood allowed you to be more selective in the kinds of roles you’ll take on hiatus?
”It has. You get some space to chose. But really I just like acting so I am likely to not look so much at the entire project as I am the words that I will be saying. If I think I can make those words believable then I’ll do it. Of course, True Blood gives me the best words!”
Do you have any favorite ones you’ve done outside of Pam and Maleficent? And if you could play any role in the world, what would it be?
”I also enjoyed playing a complicated human again in “Story of Luke” – and I also have gotten to do so many varied roles, from Congresswoman, to FBI to porn star…I am really more of a character actor and I love it!”
Kristin as Pamela Sywnford de Beaufort in True Blood Season 4/John P. Johnson, HBO Inc.
Speaking of Pam, season 4 saw her being pushed even further both physically and emotionally. While I’m sure the character didn’t appreciate the turn of events, you as an actor were given some challenging moments to play throughout the season. What did you learn about yourself from the experience?
“I always start off by finding anything that I can use from myself in any scene. And my first instinct was that I would crumble if I was losing my Daddy and my body too. But Alan said to me, “No, she’s pissed.” And I just loved that! Pam will go down fighting, true to her nature. She is a survivor and I in turn found that in myself too. So it is a real give and take, the character is stuck with me and vice versa.”
Season 4 left Pam and Eric’s( Alexander Skarsgård) relationship in tatters. Pam made a justified but never the less rash decision to fire a rocket launcher toward Moon Goddess to keep Eric from sacrificing himself and he threatened to kill her for it. We saw her become even more vulnerable in the season finale when she broke down in Eric’s office because of it and the fact that Sookie has become somewhat of a threat to Eric and Pam’s relationship. Is this something that could potentially ruin their relationship do you think? Or will they be able to overcome it?
“That is a very good question that I am curious about too. I can’t wait to find out!”
Even though you can’t say anything about season 5 and what you’re currently shooting, we know that you either already have/will be shooting flashbacks regarding Pam’s past. So as someone who has lived with Pam for the past four years, what has it been like for you to read/shoot these scenes? Have they been completely different than what you’ve been imagining in your head? Or have they lined up with some of the clues you’ve been given in seasons past and expanded upon?
“The writing on this show is so good in that the layers and details of what we have discovered about Pam over four years is built upon seamlessly. I feel that way in every scene in every season. It is peeling the onion to the next layer and it is fun to see and act.”
Kristin and Alexander Skarsgård at Comic Con 2011/Frazer Harrison, Getty Images
Season 5 looks like it will delve deeper into the vampire world and into Eric and Pam’s family. You didn’t have any interaction with Allan Hyde during season 2. But is it possible that you might have interactions with Lucy Griffiths and Nora (aka your vampire aunt) this season?
“All things are possible on True Blood! We will all, me included, have to wait and see.”
Eric’s storyline this past season gave you a break from having to speak Swedish last year. Have you had to use it so far in shooting for season 5 and if so has it gotten easier as the seasons have gone by or more difficult?
”I got Rosetta Stone in Swedish and was practicing. I need to get back to that! I’d love to learn another language!”
As someone who interacts with fans both online through your social networking accounts and in person at events and appearances, what is the best part for you?
“I like to hear back how much fun people are having with the season and I also am very moved to see people band together to make life better for others once they know about suffering, that we are all inadvertently supporting. Social networking online or in other more old fashioned ways is I suspect the only way humans won’t go extinct, or let things get so bad, they’ll wish they had.”
Kristin in Improper Bostonian/Cheyenne Ellis
When you were asked by Improper Bostonian about the biggest lie on your resume, you mentioned that a role in the play Bus Stop by William Inge was on it in the beginning of your career. Have you done any live theatre in your career so far? And if not would you like to at some point?
“Shall I tell the truth now? I used to put plays on my resume…that I had done only one scene from in class. And that really is the extent of my theatre experience. There, I’ve said it. I used to do live audience for sitcoms. It’s great fun.”
To close out this portion of the interview, one of the fans on Kristin Bauer.net was curious about your horseback riding experiences growing up. Can you tell us what the horses on your family farm were like? What was a memorable experience you had with your childhood horse? Do you still ride today?
“I ride rarely and only when I go home. My sister has horses and has kept it up so I go with her. We had many horses – all quarter horses. My Dad was a very good hunter jumper. My niece is also a competitive rider who has done very well. We rode English. I wasn’t so in to the schooling, I just liked to make my brother or sister tack up and then take off across the field!”
Tomorrow we’ll continue our conversation with Abri van Straten, the South African singer/songwriter who won Kristin’s heart. We discuss everything from his first impression of Kristin to moving to LA from South Africa, his music, and being part of the True Blood phenomenon! So check back tomorrow!