True Blood Season 5 seems to be the season of Lilith but up until Episode 7, we didn’t have a face to put with the name. Tasked with bringing this “God-like” vision to life is Jessica Clark, a relative newcomer in the acting world. Let’s face it if you are going to bring a new character to a hugely popular show you may as well make an entrance. And nothing says entrance quite like rising from a pool of blood while completely naked! Wetpaint caught up with Clark and asked her what filming that first day was like, who she would love to have a scene with and whether Lilith is real or just an hallucination.
Try to imagine that you have to spend your first day on the job naked. Its literally one of those nightmares that people have but it was a reality for Jessica Clark. Wetpaint asked Clark about her mindset that day and she said that while she was understandably nervous, she really just tried to channel Lilith who, as an all powerful vampire, would never experience nerves or anxiety. She did her best to stay connected to that sense of power and what it would be like to have the members of The Authority worship her in that way. Clark reveals that everyone was really welcoming and great and after she had her extremely short meeting with wardrobe, she made her way to the set:
The scene, as you remember, is in the karaoke bar, so there are a lot of people there. You have almost all the vampires, plus the wedding party, plus the extras, and then you have the full crew as well. It’s a closed set, but a closed set just means anybody that isn’t central to the scene isn’t there, but there were a lot of people who were central to this scene. [laughs]
So how do you prepare for a role that is based solely in mythology? Clark says that she conducted research about Lilith and that she enjoyed the power that Lilith had as a woman, especially given that women do not typically find such a role in biblical or mythological stories. She read through different interpretations of who and what Lilith was and then tried to connect with different aspects of each one.
We have heard from so many actors that have joined the True Blood cast how incredibly gracious and warm the existing members are and Clark reiterates that opinion. Both Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman) and Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton) came right over to introduce themselves to her. She even had the opportunity to meet Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse), who wasn’t in that scene but who made it a point to come over and introduce herself. She said that with a show that has such established stars and that has been around for four seasons already, you never quite know how they will react to newcomers but that the entire cast and crew was very welcoming:
One of the wonderful things about the set is that as intense as everything gets, it’s a real family environment and really jovial. People are joking around, and they really much incorporated me into that very quickly.
It seems that even as a newcomer Clark has learned the art of being vague and not giving anything away, much like her fellow True Blood cast members that have been around for a long time. When asked if Lilith is just an hallucination and what else we can expect from the character she would only reply “I think you will find more about Lilith.”
When Wetpaint asked Clark who she would like to work with on the show she couldn’t seem to pick one person. We can hardly blame her since the entire cast is so great! Here is what she had to say on that subject:
I think Anna, just because she is such phenomenal talent and her work is so nuanced and so clever. She brings so much to Sookie, so that’s who I would love to have a scene with.
My favorite character on the show is Pam. I think she’s a lot of people’s favorite, but I just think Kristin [Bauer van Straten] is phenomenal, and she does such a fabulous job. She was the one person that, having met her, I was just like, “I really love your work.” That was the one time I fangirled very slightly, but the rest of the time I kept myself very cool.
In terms of people who don’t interact with the vampire world, I think Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse) is superb. I just love what he does.
And finishing off the interview Clark was asked if she was Team Bill or Team Eric. She very wisely said that not even Lilith herself could make that decision.
Source: Wetpaint.com – True Blood Newcomer Jessica Clark Dishes on Her Character Lilith and Getting Naked in Front of Alexander Skarsgard
Photo Credit: Angelo Kritikos
