With season six of HBO’s ‘True Blood’ in full swing it seems like we can’t get enough of the show. We have Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Jason (Ryan Kwanten) getting ready to fight Warlow. We also have the little Bill came up from the pool of blood issue and now we have a new character that we want to know more about in the mist of all of this. Rob Kazinsky plays that character Ben who is also a faerie that Sookie can’t help but find her self drawn to. So how did Ben become part of the show?
“It was the standard, completely normal scenario. I had just wrapped on Pacific Rim. My agents had been saying, “There’s this great character coming up on True Blood. You’re going to go in for that. That’s the next thing for you.” I was like, “Okay, I’ll go and audition.” I went down there and did my job and met Anna [Paquin], and we did tests on it. It come in the completely normal way.”
So in the audition was he able to tell if everything was going right or is he normally very hard on him self?
“I always feel like, “Oh, this feels totally right,” and then I get it and I’m like, “I’m awful! I totally suck!” But, it was a role where I felt like, “This guy is me.” The character description was me. As soon as I walked in the room, I felt very comfortable with the dialogue. I was like, “I can do this one. This one feels right.” And I get to play on this kind of show, which is my kind of show and my kind of genre. I was like, “This feels pre- destined for me.” I was really thrilled when I got the job.”
Of course with the show being as big as it is was he a fan of the show before he got the part or did he have to do some catching up?
“True Blood is one of those shows that is so deep and good that you can’t have it on, in the background. It’s one of those shows that you have to dedicate time to. I’d never seen an episode ‘cause I was waiting for a time when I had enough downtime to ac- tually sit down and watch. All of my friends are obsessed with the show. And then, when I started auditioning for it, I was like, “I better find out what this is all about,” so that I could get the feel of it and how it was meant to be played. So, I watched all of the episodes of the previous five seasons in three days, on HBO GO. I didn’t see daylight for three days. It’s my kind of genre. I’m a massive science fiction and fantasy geek. And to see something like this – not to impugn any vampire movies that might have been made in the last 10 years – that isn’t aimed at tweens and teenagers, and has adult content and takes the subject seriously, was great. I know that True Blood is a sexy show, but instead of just glamoring it up, it shows the gritty reality of what life would be like, if this were the situa- tion. To play that reality is incredibly attractive.”
The show is known to be very secretive (they have a right to be) so where they able to tell him much about the character he was auditioning for?
“No, none of that. The scenes that we did for the audition, some of them never appeared again. One of them appeared again, in a very different form. All I knew about the character was that he was a faerie. I literally knew nothing. Not even when I got the job, did I know anything about him. About a month afterwards, I finally started to find out some details of who and what I would be playing. When I sat down with the showrunner, he said, “Now that we’ve found you, we know what to write for.” That was when they created the character. To have that kind of situation is a blessing.”
So who is Ben and how is he going to fit into the whole mess of the show?
“Well, Ben is the male equivalent of Sookie. He’s a faerie hybrid, like her. He’s ostracized from society, like her. He’s never even been accepted among his own people. He is the ultimate loner, and he’s been lonely for a very, very long time. He’s as lost as Sookie is. She has a family that loves her, but he has nothing. So, when Sookie finds somebody who seems to be so similar to her, and he finds somebody who feels like home, it immediately allows them to form a bond unlike anything Sookie has shared with any- one else on this show. The progress of that and how that evolves becomes equal parts wonderful, fascinating and scary.”
With all of the guys on the show what was it like coming into season 6 and having to try to have the audience like you as a possible love interest?
“It’s intimidating, for sure. There is the Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) camp, the Alcide (Joe Manganiello) camp and the Bill (Stephen Moyer) camp, and I know the fans of those guys are going to hate Ben. But honestly, if they give him a chance, they might really be pleasantly surprised by what happens. Unlike those guys, this is the first time that Sookie has not been trailing in the wake of something more powerful than herself. This is the first time she’s found somebody equal to her. This is probably the first chance she has at a realistic future with somebody, and being happy. But this being True Blood, things never go the straightest course. Speaking of those previous three, there is certainly an intimidating menagerie of ex-boyfriends to contend with. They share something not more meaningful, but unique, and that the others didn’t.”
Since he’s been working a lot with Anna Paquin what has that been like?
“She is really, really wonderful. She took me in, on the first day. Most of my entire season has been spent, just me and Anna. I’ve really grown quite close to her and Stephen, and her family. They’re just such welcoming, kind people. And Anna is just so into the work. She just has no ego or vanity, when it comes to it. She made it so easy for us to do love scenes. She made it so easy for us to do anything. We worked really hard to earn this romance. We worked really hard at making this a believable thing. She has just been such a breath of fresh air. She’s an Oscar winner, and somebody of such stature and talent. She’s been really humble and kind, and made it really easy for a little boy from nowhere, trying to fit in on this ginormous monolith of a show.”
This season also has Rutger Hauer around a lot. What has that been like to have him around?
“Rutger is amazing. That “Tears in Rain” scene in Blade Runner is my favorite scene in any movie, ever. I’m sitting there, working with Rutger Hauer, who is completely eccentric, in the most charming way. There’s a lot of egos with actors. We certainly don’t like to be directed by other actors, or anything like that. But, I do a scene with Rutger and, by the end of that scene, I’m 10 times the actors I was. He is so good, and he is so nice. He’s just so got it down. Every scene he’s in, he steals. You can learn a lot from watching Rutger Hauer.”
He has a high profile movie called ‘Pacific Rim’ coming out. So what has it been like to be part of a film like that?
“It’s a pinch yourself moment. Being a part of True Blood is phenomenal, but Pacific Rim was my first lead role in any major movie. Every day that I was filming that, and every time I see a trailer, I pinch myself. I’m like, “Have I actually just done a Holly- wood movie?! Really?! That’s crazy! I was stacking shelves, not long ago, in a supermar- ket. What the hell?!” To be on set with people like Guillermo del Toro, Charlie Day and Idris Elba, and working with those guys is just like, “How did this happen to me?!” And then, I went to watch a movie in a theater, a couple weeks ago, and the trailer came on. My face is in the trailer, and then my name came up on the credits, and this is the dream you dare to dream, that came true. Even with all of the hype and everything attached to it, I am supremely confident that it’s going to live up to the hype, and then supercede it. Guiller- mo is not only the most talented director that I’ve ever met or worked with, but he’s also the nicest human I’ve ever met. And he’s so funny. He doesn’t have a single story that isn’t hilarious. He’s such a good man. I will do anything for Guillermo del Toro, if he asked me. I would give him my first-born child.”
To read the full interview all you need to do is go here.
Source: Collider.com – “Rob Kazinsky Talks TRUE BLOOD Season 6, His Character’s Relationship with Sookie, Getting Naked on the Show, PACIFIC RIM, and More”
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
