Interview with Ms. Thornton

TRUE BLOOD has lots of sex, lots of blood and lots of characters, but Rutina Wesley’s Tara Thornton is in no danger of getting lost in the crowd. One of the few Bon Temps residents with no supernatural aspects, Tara (best friend of telepathic heroine Sookie Stackhouse, portrayed by Anna Paquin) is nevertheless one of the most complex characters on the show, desperate for affection yet quick to push people away, open to new experiences yet wisely wary, she’s a captivating conundrum, and Wesley plays the hell out of her.

The actress makes time to talk to us during an after-party for the Television Critics Association Awards, where TRUE BLOOD has just won for Outstanding New Program.

iF MAGAZINE: Has Tara changed from what you expected her to be when you got the part?

RUTINA WESLEY: Just for the better. I always thought she was a hard flower, this hard case on the outside with this delicate inside, but they’ve just made her so much more complex, they’ve given her so many layers, I’ve gotten to play so many different emotions. I mean, that’s an actor’s dream. This role is like a Hamlet for me. I think it’s been some of my best work that I’ve done so far, and it’s really nice that I’ve been able to be part of this ensemble, this family. Adina Porter [who plays Tara’s mother] – amazing. Her and Michelle Forbes are two of the most grounded actresses that I’ve ever worked with. They always have my back. Adina – I can’t say anything more to you than ‘phenomenal.’ I love her, I love working with her – she brings out the best in me, I always have to be on top of my game with the both of them. So she’s amazing.

iF: Is it hard to modulate just how open or shut down Tara is at any given moment?

WESLEY: Yeah, it’s a very delicate balance, because I don’t want her to ever be too angry. I want to make sure that she stays soft and real and honest in every situation, so I always play with varying emotions. I just try to keep her real, and the writers give me dialogue that helps me do that.

iF: Tara has gotten herself into a sort of unusual emotional triangle, with her lover Eggs and the outwardly supportive but supernaturally controlling Maryann …


WESLEY: It’s interesting. I think it’s great that Tara has this romance with Eggs, and she’s also taken under the wing of this Maryann character. I mean, she’s never been taken care of. Her whole life, she’s been taking care of someone else. So I think it’s nice to even have that, yet in the back of Tara’s mind, through it all, she’s very cautious about it. But it feels good for now, if that makes any sense.

iF: Tara is one of the few TRUE BLOOD characters who doesn’t have much interaction with the vampires. Do you miss that?

WESLEY: Tara probably doesn’t miss it, because she can’t stand the vamps, because she’s really scared of them, but I sort of miss playing with them, because [the actors are] all sort of in different worlds, and I really wish that I had a little bit more fun with the vampires. I wouldn’t mind being bitten, maybe [laughs].

iF: Well, in the Charlaine Harris books that TRUE BLOOD is based on, Tara eventually gets involved with a vamp.

WESLEY: You never know what’s going to happen. They’ve strayed and they’ve done so much stuff with my character that’s different than the books, but that would be nice. That would be kind of fun, I think.

iF: Now, do you want to get covered with blood or anything like that, or do you feel like, ‘That’s Sookie’s thing, Anna Paquin can do those scenes’?

WESLEY: [laughs] Yeah, I might leave that to my girl Anna, because then you’ve got to do [the blood-covered take] again and again and again and again, but who knows what’s going to happen to my character.

iF: You did have a scene at the beginning of this season with a pretty lifelike corpse. Was that the actress or was that a synthetic body?

WESLEY: They did a body cast of her actual body [and built a corpse from that]. It was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?

iF: Has anything on TRUE BLOOD freaked you out?

WESLEY: The orgy. [laughs] That was the big one for all of us. But we’re all very professional, it’s a safe environment, and everyone really, really likes each other. But it’s hard doing that stuff with fifty people when you’re naked. But we all were there together and we all supported each other, so we made it work.

iF: Have you worked on anything else lately?

WESLEY: I have a guest-star [voice] appearance on THE CLEVELAND SHOW, which is a spin-off of FAMILY GUY. I always love animation, and I’m a huge fan of FAMILY GUY, so I’m really, really excited about it.

iF: And does your character look like you?

WESLEY: You know what? She doesn’t. She has more hips and butt than I do and her name is Yvette and she’s hilarious. She’s the best friend of one of the main characters.

iF: Anything else you’d like to say about TRUE BLOOD or life in general?

WESLEY: Life is good and TRUE BLOOD, it hurts so good. I love that [advertising] line. I’m just happy to be a part of a wonderful show that people are receiving in a beautiful way. People are watching, and so, job well done.

Source: IF Magazine