Last night we were given our first look at Nicole Wright played by Jurnee Smollett. The character is an interesting addition to the cast since our favorite characters usually spend their time trying to keep secrets from the general populous and not get humans involved. But in the environment of True Blood season 6, a shakeup might be just what everyone needs. Jurnee spoke with Entertainment Weekly about her character, how she auditioned, and odd moments on set.
The interview opened with a question about whether Nicole is actually human or not. But Jurnee remained tight-lipped on the topic and explained that on this show, you might think you’re human and that could change instantly. She did say that something in a script she read recently shocked her because she didn’t see it coming. Funnily enough, Jurnee almost didn’t get cast. The audition call came over the holidays when she had left to visit family. After landing in Detroit, she was faced with having to turn around and go back to LA. That is until modern technology lent a hand with amusing results:
“Oh, I had a very funny audition. I was visiting my in-laws in Detroit [over the holidays] and we had just landed there and I got a call from my manager saying, ‘I know you just landed there but can you come back to meet with the producers for True Blood? And I [thought], ‘Dude. This is ridiculous. I never get to see my in-laws! I can’t leave’ I’m crying trying to figure out some last-minute arrangement. I had just gotten there that day. It was crazy. So casting suggested I just put myself on tape, so literally my husband and I just went into the basement of his mom’s house with the loud water heater and the baby crying upstairs – You can hear people walking around on my audition tape and the baby’s yelling, you could hear the chairs being moved. It’s so funny, we had to keep doing it take after take just because the water heater would turn on unexpectedly. It was so loud in the audition tape [laughs]. So I sent that in and they cast me based on that.”
After being cast in the role of Nicole, she couldn’t believe how many fans were tweeting to her and says the True Blood fan base is pretty awesome:
“I don’t think people will hate my character [laughs]. It’s amazing because the True Blood fan base is awesome. After HBO announced [my casting], I got all these people hitting me up on Twitter with these amazing usernames. They were all like ‘@ObsessedTrueBlood’ fans. Really funny Twitter user names. And they were all so excited, welcoming and warm. Every time I post something about True Blood they are so enthusiastic. It’s amazing the loyal fan base that this show has.”
And the fans are closer than she thought. Smollett says that friends were dying to get tidbits from her about the new season which made her realize that True Blood isn’t just a show people like, they get obsessed with it:
“Oh my gosh. I have friends that are obsessed with the show. I have friends hitting me up like, ‘Can I come to the set?’ or trying to get plotlines out of me. ‘Can you tell me what happens in the script?’ It’s funny. I didn’t realize how many of my friends were die-hard True Blood fans. Random! People I never would think watch the show. When people are into the show, they’re like obsessed INTO it. There are a few friends I might try and sneak on. I might [laughs]. But I kind of like making them wait and see what happens and not telling them too much.”
While she might want to keep her friends in suspense, Jurnee says that the cast was more than welcoming for her first day which was the table read. She got lots of hugs and some people were fans of Smollett’s well-known role in Friday Night Lights. They were warm and encouraging which meant she didn’t feel much awkwardness. Well until she encountered the fake blood onset. According to the actress, the frequently used red mixture has to get reset a lot. So getting covered in it is par for the course:
“It’s funny because you’re just walking to the stage sometimes and you’ll just see someone covered in blood just eating some chicken as if it’s nothing! [laughs] For me, the blood can be a lot of work to reset. I noticed take after take after take, it’s a lot of work on the special effects crew. The makeup artists are brilliant how they make it look so real, but it’s a lot of work for them to reset it every single take.”
So what should we look forward to with Nicole this year? There’s a ton of action, which Jurnee says is so fun:
“My character, there’s a lot of action which is fun. [Doing stunts] was new for me on a TV show. I’d done it in films, but this TV show feels like a film. You’ve got special effects, and wolves, and animals and blood! All this stuff that makes it feel like you’re on a film set. It’s so cool. It’s so much fun it should be criminal.”
Source: Entertainment Weekly.com- “‘True Blood’: Jurnee Smollett-Bell talks joining the cast and her mysterious debut as Nicole”
Image Credits: Frazer Harrison, Getty Images, HuffPost Live, and HBO, Inc.
