In last night’s episode, audiences were given the chance to see Tara (Rutina Wesley) come face to face with her mother Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) since becoming a vampire. Rutina Wesley discussed how that meeting impacted her character with Rolling Stone along with how her character feels being a vampire.
When asked if she thought Tara becoming a vampire was one of the best things that happened to her character, Rutina says it is both the best and the worst thing. Vampires were something that she hated and while part of her doesn’t want to be a vampire, she has embraced it the last few episodes because this is now what she is. And she’ll continue to understand her situation as time goes on which will help her personal growth.
But as an actress, Rutina was faced with having to show her character go from human to vampire, which she says was a challenge but fun at the same time, especially when it came to Sookie’s (Anna Paquin) kitchen:
“It’s been a little bit of both. It’s definitely been a challenge because it’s something new – like it’s basically creating a new character, but also making sure you don’t completely change so you don’t lose the essence of what you’ve already started. But the most fun I had was tearing up [Sookie's] kitchen. I got to run around and be a wild, angry possum and make strange noises. All the acting exercises I did in school – we would just makes noises in a big room and now I can use all that. This has been the most fun I’ve had – this season.”
It’s not all fun and games though, especially when it comes to wardrobe. Wesley had wanted the opprotunity to dress like co-star Kristin Bauer van Straten’s Pam. But after wearing the famed purple corset shown earlier this season, it was not so comfortable. Thankfully though Rutina’s transition to wearing fangs hasn’t been so difficult. She’s practiced saying “Sookie Stackhouse” a lot. But the best advice she was given she says is to pretend like the fangs aren’t there at all.
So now that Tara has fangs and has had to deal with her human mother, is Pam a better parent than Lettie Mae?”
“Oh, definitely. I think it’s been important for Tara to see the tough love from Pam, because she hasn’t seen much other than, “Pam wants to kill me.” But now she’s seeing Pam go, “I kind of care about you. But not too much. Don’t let it go to your head.”
But Rutina says the relationship between Tara and Lettie Mae is also interesting::
“It’s a very unique dynamic, me and my mother. Adina Porter is amazing. Getting to work with her again has been great. And Tara stands up to her mom: “You know what? Cool. If you want to go, go. But stop torturing me, because you’re gonna see me again.” It’s my favorite episode because I got to do a very sensual, sexy dance on a pole, and it’s awesome! [Laughs] Dancing is my first love.”
For the pole dancing sequence, the actress said she worked with a choreographer for 45 minutes prior to the scene but it wasn’t the dancing that actually made her nervous. It was disrobing in front of all the actors in Fangtasia that proved to be a bit intimidating. And according to Rutina, if Tara got tired of working at Fangtasia, she’d probably still do something that involves people. But ultimately it is something Rutina herself hasn’t thought much about because Tara hasn’t been able to hold down a job.
As for her other human relationships, like with Sookie, Tara will also have to deal with her again at some point. Rutina confirms that the two will see each other again and will try to work on their relationship. Speaking of changes in relationships, the actress was also asked how she felt about Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton) directing next week’s episode, “Someone I Used to Know”:
“He did amazing! He’s so lovely. It was nice to work with somebody that you know so closely and see that person live out another part of their dream, and see him do it so well. He was such a sweetheart to me and he was just open and made us feel very safe. It was just like family.”
True Blood will be saying goodbye to the head of its family Alan Ball on a day to day basis as he moves on to other projects, leaving the show in the hands of Mark Hudis next season. Rutina says Ball has set up a good foundation for the show. But it’s still hard to say goodbye:
“I think Alan set up a really good network of writers and we have a good foundation. Who knows, everyone has different ideas, so things may change, but I think we would always be moving forward in the spirit as if Alan was still there. He’ll be around, but it’s just more sad that his presence is gone. We’re gonna miss him, because his writing is amazing and he is amazing and I feel like I owe my career to him. He gave me this opportunity and – I start to cry – it means a lot to me. I told him that if I hadn’t gotten this job, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
To read the interview in its entirety click here.
Source: Rolling Stone.com- “Q&A: Rutina Wesley on Tara’s Vampire Transformation”
Image Credit: HBO, Inc.
