Even though we knew that a major True Blood character was going to die this season, watching Terry (Todd Lowe) take his final breaths as Arlene (Carrie Preston) sang to him was incredibly sad. Rolling Stone spoke with Todd about that final scene, the send off his cast mates gave him and that safety deposit box that Terry was so urgently trying to give to Lafayette.
First up, Lowe reveals that he is coming out of the funk that he got into once he found out that Terry was going to die. He reveals that he found out when they first started shooting in January that this was going to happen and that he is happy he was able to go out in a way that was for the good of the show. Todd says that he was emotional when he found out, he was emotional when they did the table read for that scene, he was emotional when he shot the episode and when he finally watched the finished product he was emotional as well. Now that the death has aired he feels like a weight has been lifted and he is able to move on with his next project.
Todd says that he was honored when Brian Buckner and other show executives kept talking about how a major character was going to die this season because he had never really considered Terry to be a “major” character. When asked if he was bummed out that Terry didn’t go down in a blaze of bloody gore, Lowe replies that while he’s a little bummed out that he had to leave at all, he is happy with the way it had to happen. He describes leaving the show as a sort of postpartum depression but says that he has made many great friends in the cast and the crew. He then jokes that he’s going to start a support group for cast members that have left the show with people like Denis O’Hare, Chris Meloni and Scott Foley.
Terry wasn’t the only one who died in Sunday’s episode and when asked if they had a send off for both him and Arliss Howard (Governor Burrell), Lowe replied:
Well, Arliss was kind of a quick member. I mean, he came in and out. I didn’t even realize, because I was just so focused on myself, that he died in this episode. When we had the table read and we read that scene [where Terry is killed], there was five steady minutes of applause, I guess as an ovation to my character. And meanwhile, Gov. Burrell goes out, and he didn’t get that applause. But he hadn’t had time to really establish himself in the world of the show. But there was a little bit of a ceremony on my last day of shooting. They surprised me with a red-velvet armadillo cake because my character has a pet armadillo. I don’t know who the baker was that made it, but it was incredibly realistic-looking. Unappetizing to the eye, but delicious.
Lowe goes on to say that if the show wanted to bring back Terry as a ghost he would be interested in hearing about it but in those cases the spirit usually enters Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) so even if Terry came back it doesn’t necessarily mean Todd would.
One of the lines that stood out most in the episode was when Arlene said “My life just don’t work without that man”. When asked how Terry’s death is going to impact Arlene, Todd revealed:
I can’t go into too much detail about what’s gonna happen. I do know that that safety-deposit box is gonna play a factor. That’s pretty much what you can gather from watching it.
For the time being Todd plans to take it easy for a little while. He says that the last seven months have really taken a toll on him emotionally and as a result he hasn’t been eating healthy and he’s put on some weight. He goes on to say that he has saved money over the years so he doesn’t need to rush right into the next project he can take his time and get back into shape and look for the right project. He also reveals that his band L.A. Hootenanny has been on hiatus for July but they plan to get back to performing next month. To find out more information on the band and any performances they may have, click here to visit their site.
True Blood fans are definitely going to miss Terry’s humor and soft side when it came to his wife. Sam, Andy and multiple other lives are no doubt going to be impacted – and we cannot wait to see what is in that safety deposit box! To read the entire interview with Todd click here.
Source: RollingStone.com – Todd Lowe Talks About His Character’s Death on True Blood
Image Credit: HBO