Interview: Amelia Rose Blaire on the "Epic" Final Season of True Blood
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| Amelia Rose Blaire, photo by Bobby Quillard |
Celebrity Extra: First off, can you give me a little background on yourself? How did you get your start in acting?
Amelia Rose Blaire: My younger sister was a huge catalyst in that. She started taking acting classes, and she was always much more outgoing, more social and braver than I was. I was a very shy kid. One day I decided to tag along with her and got bit by the bug. I knew that if I was going to be an actor, I wanted to be the best possible actor I could be. So I started studying at The Sanford Meisner Center in North Hollywood and did their two-year program. It was immersive and intensive, and I learned a lot about myself. Then I started studying with the actress Lindsay Crouse, who is a wonderful teacher of mine to this day. She directed me toward the Atlantic Theatre Company Conservatory in New York City, where I went after I graduated high school.
CE: Your first big part was on “90210”; tell me about that experience.
ARB: That was the first time I’ve ever had a recurring role on any show. That was very exciting. It was one of my earlier roles, so I just felt like I had my jaw open the entire time because I was experiencing something so different. But it was a lot of fun. It was kind of like being in high school, because I was playing a high-school character, and she was a little weird. She was very strangely possessive and kind of quirky and entitled. It was fun to bring out those different characteristics, because that’s not something I usually play with. Getting to play such a strange character who was really different from me was very special.
CE: Your next big role is your current role, as Willa Burrell in the phenomenally popular “True Blood.” Tell me about your audition and how you got the part.
ARB: I had been in that casting office many times before, but that was the first time I had auditioned for “True Blood.” But I have been a fan of the show since season one, so when I got the audition, I knew where I would be and how to fit into the show. The day I got the audition, my sister was in town, and her cat got hit by a car. I went over to my mom’s house, which is where the cat was, and I went in the backyard, and my sister was holding him. We didn’t know if he was alive or dead. He wasn’t moving. And she was wailing at the top of her lungs, just crying: “Is he gone? Is he dead? Is he dead?” And I had never seen my sister like that. It was a very grounding and sobering and sad moment. There was nothing I could do for her. And the next day, I had to go in to audition for “True Blood.” In the audition, the character was begging not to die, not to be turned into a vampire, which she kind of thought was the same thing as dying. In any other circumstance, I would have made it about not wanting to die, but because of witnessing the whole experience with my sister the day before, I made it about wanting to live. And at the time, it was this gift of getting to see a different perspective. Instead of making it about dying, it was about living. So, for me that was a huge shift.
After I left the audition, I felt out of my body, which is something that is really special when you are able to do that, especially in an audition room, which can be very difficult to let go. But because of that situation, I was able to do it. I got a call later that day that they wanted to see me again. And I went in one more time and kind of kissed it goodbye, assumed it was gone. And then a couple of days later I found out I had booked it, which was unreal.
CE: Is it as much fun to work on “True Blood” as I would imagine it to be?
ARB: It’s a total blast! I mean, where else in life do you get to play with fangs and special effects and blood? You get to live in this whole other world, where the realities of this world don’t exist or can be pushed. It’s so much fun. And everybody is so sweet and so welcoming and warm, and they’re down to play and down to get dirty. It’s really a special set.
CE: This is your second year on the show, but I know most of the cast have been there since day one. That set must be like a well-oiled machine, where everyone really knows his stuff — actors, writers, directors and crew.
ARB: They really do. They know their characters very well, and it’s really cool to see where they take everybody, because a lot of the time, you don’t even see it coming, and then all of a sudden you’re like: “Oh my gosh, yes! That makes total sense! I love it.”
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| Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Willa |
ARB: Oh, yes. He’s very funny. He’s very sweet and very goofy. He and Kristin (Bauer van Straten, who plays Pam) are such a team; they’re so much fun to work with. He’s very tall and very nice.
CE: One of my favorite scenes of yours was after Willa was turned, and she came home to confront her father, Gov. Burrell (played by Arliss Howard). Tell me about filming that.
ARB: When I first went into that scene, I was expecting that he would be completely appalled by me and would be terrified. But when we started filming, all he wanted to do was hug me. It was such an incredible learning experience as an actor, because you go in with all of the expectations of how you think the scene is going play out, and then your partner brings something completely different, and you just have to drop everything and just be there with them. He gave me something completely different from what I was expecting, and I think also different from what Willa was expecting. It was a wonderful moment.
CE: What can you tell me about this final season of “True Blood”?
ARB: I think the fans are going to be really happy. The writers and everyone are doing a wonderful job. Everyone wants to make this the best ending that they can possibly make. Everyone is putting in 110 percent — it is going to be epic.
CE: Are you and the rest of the cast starting to feel the end approaching? What is the mood like on the set?
ARB: As the end gets closer, it’s going to affect everyone, because most of the cast and crew have been here since season one. They’ve been working together for seven years, which is an incredible amount of time in this industry. Sadness hasn’t quite taken over the set just yet, but ask me again on my final day of filming!
Interview: Author Em Barrett Takes a Self-Publishing Chance
Celebrity Extra: Your books take place in Michigan — did you grow up there and/or used to live there?
Em Barrett: Yes, I did grow up in the suburbs of Detroit, and I spent a lot of time in the summer up in northern Michigan (where the fictional Green Island is). Not anywhere as swanky as Green Island, or even close, but I really love it up there. I was always a big reader and liked writing, but fiction writing wasn’t something I got into until more recently. I went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for undergrad. I was an English major there, and I loved that, and I loved books, and I loved writing papers. But rather than trying to pursue that, I took a more carved-out path and decided to go to law school. I went to the University of Michigan for that as well.
Then I moved to Chicago and worked as a corporate lawyer at a big law firm there for six years. Overall, I pretty much hated it, like a lot of people do. That was when I started writing “Leaving Green Island.” It was kind of my fun side project, and a way to vent some of my frustrations with law-firm politics and life. And also just a means for expressing some of my thoughts on the world generally while creating this other fictional world. It ended up being so much fun that I was hooked after that.
CE: Based on what you just told me, then you did draw from your own life to write these books?
EM: Yes. For the settings and jobs and relationships, I draw a lot from my own life — mainly because I feel like that makes it come through in a more honest way. It makes the characters feel more real, but it also makes it easier for me to write stories that come across as genuine when I actually know what I’m talking about.
CE: Are your characters based on real-life people, or just some aspects of their personalities?
EM: Everyone’s always trying to figure out who is who in real life but, no, they are fictional. I actually feel like with each of the three girls, I put different parts of myself into them. I relate to each of them in different aspects of their personalities. I definitely draw from my dynamics with my close friends and my roommates from the days when I used to live with a lot of my girlfriends in college. I’ve stayed close with them, so it gives me a lot to draw from. But the conversations aren’t real and the characters don’t reflect three specific people who are actually in my life.
CE: When you wrote “Leaving Green Island,” did you have a sequel in mind, or did that just sort of happen?
EM: There was a big break in between writing the two books, and I definitely did not have it in my mind that I was going to write a sequel when I wrote “Leaving Green Island.” I just wrote “Leaving Green Island” kind of as a fun project and thought, “I’ll see what happens with it.” I was self-conscious about the whole thing at first, so I started off just having a few good friends read it, and eventually I let my parents and other friends read it and so on. For a little while, I tried to find a literary agent and see if I could potentially get it published with a major publishing house.
I was working a lot at my law firm back then, and I was also pregnant, and then I had my first child, so I was just so busy that it felt like I couldn’t keep sending out these letters to agents, feeling that they were just being thrown in the trash. So I stopped writing, put the book away, and didn’t think about it for a while. Around that time I started seeing different articles pop up about self-publishing, and how it was making waves, and self-published writers were having a lot of success. There were all of these new opportunities to market self-published books through Goodreads and Amazon and whatnot. So, my husband really encouraged me to try that.
My first instinct was, “No, no, no. I just wouldn’t feel confident doing that.” I was really wary of the idea, but, after having friends give positive feedback on the book, I decided to get some more objective opinions and then decide. I had a couple of friends give it to their book clubs, along with a feedback sheet and say, “This is my friend’s book. She really wants brutally honest feedback. She doesn’t want to publish it and have everyone write horrible reviews. Be honest about what you think.” The response was really positive. That gave me the little boost of confidence that I needed to decide, “What the heck? I’ll try it.”
I self-published “LGI” in summer 2012, and I tried to learn how exactly to market a self-published book. I was figuring it out as I went. It was really fun to do. It was my own project where I could control everything. When I started to get a few fans, a lot of people said they wanted a second book, that they wanted to know what happened next. And they were interested in other characters. So I thought about it for a while, debating if a book about Nevada or Lizzy or even some more-minor character would be best. The story for “The Almosts” came to me over time. I was also in a new stage of my life with a baby then, so that gave me a lot of new experiences to draw from. I tried to incorporate those into the book and hoped they would resonate with other women.
CE: So, are we gonna get a third book written from Nevada’s perspective? I, for one, would love that! She’s a great character.
EM: Thank you! I’m toying with it. So far I have hesitated for two reasons: One is in trying to market “The Almosts” and get the word out to people, it’s a lot harder when you’re trying to market a series. While you can read it as a stand-alone book, I think it provides a lot of background about the characters and their relationships, and the nuances of what’s gone on between them if you have read “Leaving Green Island” first. It’s hard to market a book and say, “Buy my new book. Oh, but buy my old book first.”
I’m worried if I get into a third one where I’m saying, “I have this book but you should read these other two first,” it might be really hard to get the word out. And my other holdup is that I feel that Nevada is kind of a mystery. She’s really loyal and always there for her friends when they really need her, but she also can be a little bit prickly, and I think of her as having this complicated childhood and past. And so I don’t know if she’s better off left a mystery or whether it’s better to unveil everything that’s going on in there. So, I don’t know. We’ll see.
CE: How do you feel about some critics comparing you to Emily Giffin?
EB: I was very excited when I read that. Obviously, I take it as a huge compliment. I like her books a lot, and she’s been hugely successful. While I hope my voice is unique as well, I’m beyond flattered to be compared to Emily Giffin.
CE: You moved back to Michigan from Chicago recently, yes?
EB: Yes, we moved back here in the summer of 2013. At that time, I left my law firm job with the hope of pursuing writing full time, as well as spending a lot of time with my daughter. And I’m expecting another baby as well.
CE: Congratulations! You might have your hands too full for writing pretty soon!
EB: Thanks! And yeah, things are busy but I really am trying to buckle down with my writing to see if I can really make it or not. I feel like this is a good time to try to do it. Hopefully you’ll be hearing a lot more from me soon. That’s the plan for now. We’ll see what happens.
Interview: Cassidy Freeman Prepares for the Storm
Celebrity Extra: So, without giving too much away, what can you tell me about season three?
Cassidy Freeman: They have a tag line every season, and last year’s tag line was “A Storm Is Coming.” The first season really set up who these people are, and got us into the rhythm of having a crime every week or every two weeks. And then last season, the second season, I felt like we started to see things happen to each of these characters — the proverbial shit hit the fan. And now this season, all that’s out in the open, and we get to see who these people actually are. We get to see what these people do in the face of a storm. How do they put their lives back together? How do they fight to keep what they love, and what do they want their life to look like in the face of adversity, in the face of harsh truths? I find that this season is way more character driven, way more serial. It’s more about us and less just about being a crime drama; it’s more about who these characters actually are. It is nice to be able to flush out that side of these characters.
CE: The series is based on a book series; have you read any of them, or did you decide not to so you could just focus on the TV series and not the book series?
CF: I Goldilocks-ed it. I went halfway. I read like four of them (out of 10), but I didn’t want it to color too much how I played this character. I also only have 24 hours in a day, and as much as I love Craig Johnson, there are other books I want to read as well.
CE: At the end of season two, Cady is hit by a car and almost killed. How will that play into this next season?
CF: One of the inciting incidents of this whole storyline is the death of Walt’s wife, my mother. And when something starts that way — I don’t know if you’ve ever lost anyone significantly close to you, but it colors how you look at the rest of your life. It distills those who are very important to you, it washes away that which doesn’t matter. And it really shines a light on that which is really important to you. And the fear of losing those things heightens. It doesn’t mean that you become this fearful recluse of a person, but it’s almost like upping the contrast in your life. The darks become darker, and the lights become lighter. You see things more clearly, and lines are more defined.
And so I feel like to Walt, the idea of losing me is one of those top-three things that maybe he wouldn’t last through. I think it really raised the stakes of the end of last season. You get to see the role that Cady plays in a lot of people’s lives. All of a sudden it flushed out Ferguson — this crush he’s had for years come to light, and that flushes out his character. And Branch all of a sudden cares more about her than he cares about winning, and that makes him a way more-likable character.
CF: Absolutely. It’s really, really complicated. At this point, it no longer is this teenage taboo, a don’t-tell-my-dad kind of thing. It’s more about if they really want to be together and if they are each other’s priority, because there are more things going on outside of them, like Henry being in jail and their life falling apart around them. It’s hard for them to try to figure out what their relationship is going to be when other things are kind of taking priority.
CE: Speaking of Henry being in jail, what role will Cady play in trying to help him?
CF: Well, I can tell you that Cady Longmire is a lawyer. And I can tell you that she might not be the most experienced lawyer in the world in that she’s in her late 20s, but she cares a lot about this case, so she’s going to do everything she possibly can to assist in this. But it’s a struggle, and she feels like she really has to stand up for Henry and her dad.
CE: Tell me about life on the set. Is it a fun set? Are there any great pranksters on the set?
CF: You’ve obviously never met Lou Diamond Phillips.
CE: He would be my first choice if I had to guess who was the class cut-up.
CF: Yeah. He should have a second middle name called “Ham.” He’s such a ham. I love him so much. He tells the worst and the best jokes, in the same breath. He is so light-hearted and so loving. And Robert (Taylor, who plays Walt) is a sweetheart, but he has a lot to keep straight in his head. He’s working mostly every day all day. So, the man needs like some back rubs and some sleep. But we’re all pretty jovial.
Adam Bartley is also one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met in my life, and whether he has an emotional scene or a single word, he has to be at work all day. He shows up and he’s happy that he’s there, and he just like a light of life. I can’t tell you how refreshing that is in this business. Most people try to define themselves by screen time or word count or something like that. And they try to quantify how important they are to the production based on how important they are to the story or how much they’re in the story, and that’s just not true. When you find those people who shine no matter what their job is, those are the people you want to work with over and over again.
CE: The show has been able to attract quite a few big-name guest stars, like Peter Weller, Katherine La Nasa and Charles Dutton. Can you give me any third-season guest-star scoop?
CF: Well, Peter Weller just directed an episode. Over the past three years, I haven’t really gotten the chance to know him, and this episode he just directed, I think I fell in love with Peter Weller. He’s the sweetest, coolest guy, and he really cares. He’s from the theater, and I grew up doing theater, so it’s refreshing in that way. I don’t know when this happened, but at some point, it became cool in Hollywood not to care. When I was a kid, caring was cool. And so I like to care. So what if you’re emotional? Get over it. You care and it matters, and Peter Weller is a great example of that. He cares. If something isn’t right, he’s going to do it until it is right. And that feels like you have a team player when he’s on set.
We have some great new guest stars coming in too. I don’t how we keep doing it, but we keep landing really talented actors to come play with us. I hesitate to tell you, because someone will probably shoot me, but you will find out soon enough. This season is only 10 episodes; it’s going to go quick.
Q and A: Week of June 9
A: Ben returns to series television this fall when he stars in Fox’s “Gotham,” which is a prequel series to the “Batman” movies. Ben plays a young James Gordon — the police official whom “Batman” fans know as an eventual ally to Bruce Wayne/Batman. The cast also includes Donal Logue, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Mazouz, Robin Lord Taylor, Camren Bicondova, Erin Richards, Sean Pertwee, Zabryna Guevara and Cory Michael Smith. The series’ executive producers are Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist”), Danny Cannon (the “CSI” franchise and “Nikita”) and John Stephens (“Gossip Girl” and “The O.C.”). Judging by the teaser trailer online, this is definitely something I’m going to watch.
Q: I had heard awhile back that Robert De Niro was going to star in an HBO drama series, but I haven’t seen anything about it since. Do you know if that’s still going to happen? — Donnie F., via email
A: Well, it is and it isn’t. The series is still happening, but Robert won’t be involved. “Criminal Justice,” a seven-hour miniseries based on BBC’s 2008 Peter Moffat drama of the same name, was supposed to star James Gandolfini. When James passed away in last June (after having already filmed the pilot), Robert was tapped to star in his place. However, Robert had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict, so John Turturro has stepped in to play the lead, Jack Stone, an unscrupulous New York City lawyer who defends a Pakistani man (Riz Ahmed) accused of murder.
Q: I keep hearing rumors that a new “Star Wars” will be coming to theaters. Is that true, or is it going to be a TV series? — Freddie T., Omaha, Neb.
A: This past year’s worst-kept secret in Hollywood was verified on April 29 when director J.J. Abrams posted a picture on starwars.com of the first table read for the feature film “Star Wars: Episode VII.” Cast members include Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega and Adam Driver. Of the movie, J.J. said in a statement: “It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. Everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.” Fans don’t have to wait too long to see the much-anticipated film: Its scheduled premiere date is Dec. 18, 2015.
Q: Can you tell me if “Almost Human” will be back for another season? — John J., via email
A: Fox opted not to renew the sci-fi crime drama set in 2048, which centered on John Kennex (played by Karl Urban) and his android police partner, Dorian (played by Michael Ealy). The show had been gaining in the ratings race in recent weeks, however, there are too many new powerhouse drama series (like the aforementioned “Gotham”) that Fox has ordered to series that there just wasn’t room for “Almost Human.”
Q: Years ago, I used to watch “Project Greenlight” on HBO, and I really enjoyed it. Is it true that HBO is bringing the series back? Are Matt and Ben involved?— George S. in Kentucky
A: After being off the air for more than a decade, HBO has opted to bring back Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s filmmaker competition series for a third season. Ben revealed of the 2001/2003 series in a press statement: “‘Project Greenlight’ was ahead of its time. Now that technology has caught up to the concept, we thought it was a perfect time to bring it back. It is great having ‘Project Greenlight’ back at HBO.”
A: A and E’s highest-rated original drama of all time returned for a 10-episode third season this past June 2 at 10/9c. I recently spoke with series star, Cassidy Freeman (who plays Cady Longmire), and she gave me a little hint as to what to expect this season: “The first season of the show really set up who these character are. We got into the rhythm of having a crime every week or every two weeks, and then last season I felt like we started to see things happen to each of these characters, and the proverbial sh!t hit the fan. Last season’s tagline was: ‘A storm is coming.’ And now this season, the storm has come, and you’ll see how people deal with the wreckage. There’s going to be a lot of change. How do they put their lives back together? How do they fight to keep what they love?”
And speaking of love, will Cady and Branch continue to explore their on-again/off-again relationship? “Absolutely. It’s really, really complicated. At this point, it is no longer a don’t-tell-my-dad taboo. Now it’s more about if they really want to be together, and if they are each other’s priority.”
Check back Monday for my full interview with Cassidy.
Q: Is “The Killing” coming back for another season? I know it was canceled last season, and then AMC decided to give it a third season. Has it escaped death again? — Carl T., Seattle
A: In an almost-unprecedented move, “The Killing” has escaped yet another cancelation. This past September, AMC did indeed decide not to renew the crime/mystery drama for a fourth season, and that’s when Netflix stepped up to the plate. Netflix, which has been the series’ exclusive digital partner for all three seasons, will air a six-episode fourth (and final) season, with “The Killing” joining the ranks of superb Netflix original series like “Arrested Development,” “Orange Is the New Black,” “House of Cards” and many more. The complete fourth season of “The Killing” will be available beginning Aug. 1.
Q: Can you tell me if “The Carries Diaries” will return this fall? — Denise G., via email
A: Along with “The Tomorrow People” and “Star-Crossed,” the not-so-great-in-the-ratings “The Carrie Diaries” has been canceled by the CW to make room for new programming. “The Flash,” “iZombie,” “Jane the Virgin,” and “The Messengers” will join the CW’s growing lineup of supernatural and edgy dramas.
Q: I am amazed every week by “Hannibal,” especially the writing and all of the actors. Do you know yet if it’ll be back for another season? — Scott R., via email
A: The dark and brilliant psychological thriller — which stars Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen — will return to NBC for a third season (which is rumored to take place in France), most likely in spring 2015. Come back next week, when I’ll be sharing NBC’s entire 2014-15 schedule (with each networks’ schedules to follow in subsequent weeks).
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