All of us Truebies know Fiona Shaw as Marnie from True Blood but do we really know how she got the part or even how she prepared herself for the role?? The Guardian just talked to her about this. They were able to find out that she didn’t get the typical call from her agent saying she got the part for True Blood.
“I just got a phone call one day. They didn’t even go through my agent. Hollywood ringing – it’s what everyone dreams about. They’d seen me in Medea and decided I’d be ideal. Medea was very glamorous, though; Marnie isn’t, but I wanted to do something that was so far away from what I was used to. I did a lot of research by going to witches’ meetings …”
Very interesting that Hollywood contacted her and didn’t go through her agent, but I am sure you are probably wondering how the heck does someone find witch’s meetings to go to. Well here is how she found them:
“There’s the Bodhi Tree book storein Hollywood, which has books on healing and that sort of thing, and in the window there are notices for a phenomenal range of offerings. I went to one meeting to bring back the dead.”
I like how she did research for her part by going to the witch’s meeting. I also like what she said if she would have taken the role 10 year ago.
“I’ve never taken myself too seriously, but it’s true that big TV shows like this have become more acceptable. HBO has become the hedge fund of classical acting. The writing is excellent and they aren’t afraid to use the full potential of wide-screen TV. It was like being invited to appear in 12 movies. It’s by far the biggest thing I’ve ever done: it gets an audience of 30m in the US. I get mobbed walking down Fifth Avenue. That’s never happened to me before.”
Now some people maybe thinking she’ll be more willing to do more vampire roles. Well that doesn’t seem to be the case for her as she has said this about doing more vampire roles:
“Not particularly! But True Blood is a critique of the way the US treats minorities. Now that the vampires have conformed and no longer drink human blood they get equal rights and the vote.”
This has been very interesting on learning how she got ready for a role that we have all come to love in some way. What do you guys think about how she got ready for her role on True Blood? You can read the whole article here.
Source: Guardian.co.uk – “Fiona Shaw: ‘I prepared for True Blood by going to witches’ meetings’”
Image Credit: HBO, Inc.
