‘True Blood’: An interview with a vampire

Monday, February 15 2010, 7:48am EST

By Dan French, TV Editor

Truth be told, season two of True Blood was somewhat lacking in the Eric Northman department. Heartbreaking scenes with Godric (R.I.P.) aside, TB2 was ruled by Maryann Forrester and her creepy dalliances with Demetri. Thankfully, the show’s third run promises to feature more of Bon Temps’ sexiest vampire as he battles Bill (for Sookie’s heart), the Queen of Louisiana (over the V sales), and werewolves (more here). Itching for more info, Tube Talk caught up with Alexander Skarsgård for a quick bite.
Does Eric have genuine feelings for Sookie? Or is he doing it to get at Bill?
“He’s intrigued by her, for sure. When he meets her for the first time, he knows there’s something different about her and that intrigues him. He doesn’t care too much for humans in general – he thinks they’re pathetic – but when he meets her, there’s something about her. He can’t put his finger on it, but he’s curious for sure.”

It’s not just a case of forbidden fruit?
“No – he’s curious and he’s not gonna let Bill stop him because Bill’s just this little kid!”

Could Eric crush him in a fight?
“Bill? Oh yeah! Without a doubt.”

Sookie aside, is there anyone else in the show at the moment that Eric would be a good match for?
“I don’t know, man. He’s already got his Pam – even though that’s not a sexual thing, he’s got his partner. For sexual attraction, it’s all about Sookie.”

How far into the third season will we see them acting on the attraction?
“I don’t know – we start filming next month and I haven’t seen the script yet! I don’t know what’s gonna happen. But it’s building up…”

Alan Ball has hinted that the Queen of Louisiana will get her comeuppance this season. Will Eric have anything to do with that?
“They have this little business on the side so they’ll definitely interact more I’m sure. Maybe they’ll get punished for that – I don’t know. I know less than all the fans on the blogs! I try to stay away from the fan sites because it’s not good for me to read that stuff – it’ll just freak me out!”

Werewolves will be arriving soon. Should the vampires of Bon Temps be afraid?
“No, I don’t think Eric will be very afraid.”

We’ve seen you naked a fair few times throughout the series. How is it filming those kinds of scenes?
“It doesn’t really bother me that much. I’ve been naked in movies before so I don’t really care about it. I grew up in Sweden so it’s not a big issue.”