By Christina Radish

Sam Trammell at the premiere of "True Blood" held at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, Calif. on September 4, 2008.

Making inroads on the New York stage (which included a 1998 Tony Award nomination for Best Actor) while building an intriguing career in mostly independent features, Sam Trammell has done guest spots on such TV shows as Dexter, Cold Case, CSI: NY, Bones and House, among others. The 37-year-old actor spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about what it’s like to be involved in such a high-profile, successful project.

MediaBlvd Magazine> How did you get into acting? When did you know it was what you wanted to do for a living?

Sam Trammell> I was actually born in New Orleans, Louisiana. I moved around a lot when I was a kid, and I ended up in West Virginia for junior high and high school. I was never going to be an actor. I wanted to be an astro-physicist, growing up, but I ended up being a philosophy major in college. I had never acted. I was a musician in bands, at the time, and a friend of mine was an actor. I went to Brown and they have this New Plays Festival at the beginning of the second semester, every year. He said, “You should audition for the New Plays Festival because there are a bunch of parts that they need actors for.” It was my senior year and I said, “Yeah, I should do that. That would be great!” So, I auditioned and got cast in this play called Stupid Kids, written by one of the graduate students, that they actually ended up doing off-Broadway. And, I loved it and was like, “Forget graduate school. I’m moving to New York.” I just got really lucky. I moved there, took some classes, got an agent and that was it. But, it was just completely out of nowhere that I got into it. I don’t know if I would have ever done it, if that friend hadn’t suggested doing it, but it worked out really well. I’m a regimented person. I think about things before I do them and am almost too careful. And then, this happened and it was the craziest thing in the world. That started me on this whole path. I started out doing theater in New York, and then little independent movies, and eventually ended up in Los Angeles.

MediaBlvd> How did you become a part of True Blood? Was it just through the regular auditioning process?

Sam> Yeah, like anybody else, I just got an audition. I auditioned a couple of times, and that was it. It was a fairly quick process, as far as that goes. It’s definitely the best television project I’ve ever been involved with. I had to go to HBO and do an audition in front of the president. They call it a network test, and you have to audition in front of all of the big honchos at the network, in this room where you’re on a stage and they’re in these leather chairs. It’s a really nerve-wracking process for everybody. You’re doing something that’s shot on camera. You’re not doing a play, so it’s smaller acting, but you’re in this room and you have to play to the audience. And, you see the other actors that you’re up against, and you also have to sign your contract for a 7-year commitment. It’s really heady. But, I was glad it all worked out.

MediaBlvd> For those who still may not be familiar with it, can you talk about what True Blood is and how your character fits into the story?

Sam> True Blood is a character-driven drama that’s set in this fantastical world, and based on these books that Charlaine Harris wrote. And, it’s basically the story of these people who live in the small, fictional town of Bon Temps, in a time when vampires are coming out of the closet, so to speak. They’re letting it be known that they exist, and that they want equal rights. My character, Sam, owns a bar that’s named after his last name, Merlotte’s. A lot of the show is centered around the bar, and a couple of the other main characters are waitresses there. There’s this drink that the Japanese created, called Tru Blood, that’s a synthetic blood drink that the vampires are able to drink, so that they don’t have to drink human blood. It’s not like they’re always out to kill you, even though Sam is very suspicious. My character is a mysterious guy, even though he’s around a lot and most people know who he is. You don’t know anything about him. He’s a really friendly, good guy. He’s very protective of his waitresses. He also owns an apartment complex where one of the waitresses lives. He takes care of people. But, nobody knows anything about him, before he moved to town. He lives alone in a little trailer behind the bar. He’s got a huge crush on one of the waitresses, Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin. It’s a complicated relationship because she doesn’t want to get involved with her boss, and she has a crush on Bill, the vampire. Sam is, of course, jealous of that relationship and thinks she’s crazy for dating a vampire. He has a better understanding of vampires than some of the other people on the show, just because of his past. Everybody has secrets, but Sam has a very big secret about who he is, that gets revealed later on. The show is really amazing because it’s so many different genres, worked into one thing. It’s a gothic romance and a murder mystery. It’s really sexy, bloody and scary, but it’s also really funny. It’s very cinematic. It’s got all these rich colors, and all these soaring scores. It’s just a really fun show. And, Alan Ball is a genius for being able to tonally make it all work. There’s nothing else like it on TV right now. It’s just really cool, and totally fun and exciting.

MediaBlvd> Had you been looking to do television, or did the fact that it was HBO, which allows you to get away with more, make it more appealing?

Sam> The fact that it was Alan Ball and HBO made it a total home-run. This was the show that actors wanted to do. HBO is going to let you do what you want to do. You’re not going to have the restrictions that a network would have. And, Alan Ball is such a great writer. Just imagining him, writing a great character drama, in a fantastical world of vampires and other weird things, just sounded so cool. Plus, I’m from the South, so I love the Southern world and doing Southern characters. It’s really fun. We’ve gone to Shreveport a few times to shoot exteriors, and I got to shoot this one scene on Lake Bistineau, on land that was actually owned, at one time, by my great-great-grandfather, in this tiny little town where I have a bunch of family buried. The coincidences were just crazy. Just being in that area was pretty wild for me. I used to go up there to have Sunday dinner, when I was a kid, so to actually be shooting this show on part of that land was pretty wild.

MediaBlvd> What was it about Sam that you thought you could identify with?

Sam> The thing I like about him most is that he has all this stuff that he can’t talk about. He’s in the world with everybody else, but he’s not because he has this other side of himself that he can’t show. It’s so fun to play characters that have big secrets like that. It’s also great to just be a guy who’s taking care of a lot of other people. He’s such a great dude. He takes care of his waitresses, and he’s the protector of a lot of the people in town.

MediaBlvd> Were you aware of his background and what his secret is, when you were cast?

Sam> I was. I’m not talking about it just in case people don’t know, but anyone who reads the books can find out. That’s one of the great, fun things to work on, as an actor. You have to figure out what that means and how much of that you bring into your part. I read a few of the books before we did the show, so I was aware of his secret.

MediaBlvd> As an actor, when you’re playing a character who has a secret, is that something you keep in the back of your mind while you’re playing him, or is it something that you just deal with in those scenes?

Sam> For the most part, you’re just thinking about the scene that you’re doing. It’s not always something that you think about and try to bring in because you have to think about other things and focus on the specific emotions of whatever scene you’re doing. But, there are certain scenes in the show where I get to bring that up and use it, which is really interesting.

MediaBlvd> How did you and Anna Paquin first meet?

Sam> It was great. It was really fun! We had both been cast and they asked both of us to come back to HBO, about a week later, and read with some of the actors that they were casting for the other parts. They were still casting Bill (Stephen Moyer), the vampire, and Tara (Rutina Wesley), another waitress on the show. So, we had just gotten the jobs and we were so psyched. We were in this office at HBO and we were like two school kids, giddy and laughing and hugging each other. I was so psyched that she was as excited as I was. We were both just over the moon, and so excited about it.

MediaBlvd> What has she been like to work with?

Sam> She’s so good! She is really, really into acting and doing the work. She has more fame than any of the other main actors, but she’s not at all about that. She’s just excited to do the scenes, and she’s really a great actress to work with because she’s just about the work. I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true. It’s great to work with her. We all continue to be excited about being on the show. We have a really great cast, in that sense. Everybody’s excited to be there. In a show, a lot of times you get people that are jaded, or they’re not happy with the show, or they thought they could get something better, and that’s just not the case with True Blood. We really lucked out. Everybody on the show just gets it and knows that we’re on a great thing, and just loves doing the work on it.

MediaBlvd> As the series continues to develop over the season, will viewers get to learn more about Sam and who he is? Will his feelings for Sookie be explored more, or will that remain an unrequited thing?

Sam> You end up learning a lot about who Sam really is and what his deal is. Sam ends up having a relationship with Tara, which wasn’t expected. But, he does continue to desire Sookie. That definitely continues on, for sure. A lot of really cool stuff starts happening for Sam, and he’s very much involved in the finale. It’s pretty wild.

MediaBlvd> Did you get to be involved in any of the action at all this season, or is that something you’re hoping to be able to do in Season 2?

Sam> I’m pretty big-time involved in that, as it goes on. Things get really intense. As the season goes on, the stakes get higher and higher. I have some confrontations with Bill, and some of the other vampires, and there’s definitely some fighting-for-your-life moments. There’s a lot of action. When we finished the season, my body was very, very sore. I could barely walk, I was so sore. I got to do a lot of fun things, definitely.

MediaBlvd> Had you been a fan of the vampire genre prior to this project, or is this your first exposure to it?

Sam> I’ve always liked scary books. When I was a kid, I didn’t like scary movies, but I like them now. I’m not a big vampire person, but I know there are a lot of people out there are, and I respect that. But, I definitely like any kind of fantastical, supernatural stuff, if it’s done well. If it’s just cheesy or kind of light, I’m not as into it, but if it’s really edgy, then I’m way into it. I love it. I love those zombie movies, 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. The bad ones are the worst, and the good ones are so great. If it’s good and edgy, I love any kind of scary show, whether it has to do with monsters or not. I was totally psyched to be a part of something like that. One thing I was worried about with the show was that the bloody and scary stuff would be dulled down, but it’s not. I totally love it! I love the look of the show. I was really amazed that Alan got the scary, the sexy and the funny in there. It’s so hard to make a good, one genre show, so him putting them all together was really impressive.

MediaBlvd> Were you familiar at all with the book series that True Blood is adapted from, or was it something you looked into once you had been cast?

Sam> No, I wasn’t familiar with the books. It was really fun to read them. Charlaine created such a great world, for us to jump off from, and we’re following the books. We followed Book 1 in the first season, and I think we’re going to try to follow Book 2 next. She’s really set it up well. I enjoyed reading them.

MediaBlvd> Was there any intimidation for you, knowing that you were going to be playing a character from a book series that so many people love?

Sam> When I got the job, I didn’t realize the extent of how huge Charlaine is, and I’m kind of glad I didn’t because it’s definitely nerve-wracking. You have to trust that Alan cast you because you were right for the part. You don’t want to try to be like anything else. There’s no way that I could imagine what everybody else imagined when they read the books because everybody has a different brain. We all really hoped that her fans would like the show because we love the books and want to respect them. It’s definitely a little nerve-wracking, going into it, knowing that people are going to be critical of you, either positively or negatively. But, you do the best work that you can do and, hopefully, people will like it.

MediaBlvd> So, Alan is being very true to the books then?

Sam> Alan has followed the books pretty closely, as far as who the characters are, but there’s some stuff that doesn’t get in because there’s just so much stuff in a book. And then, there are some characters that are a little bit different. Tara’s character is not in the books as much.

MediaBlvd> Since being cast in the show, have you given any thought at all about how you would react, personally, if vampires were really to exist in our world?

Sam> I think I’d be a little more scared of them than Sam Merlotte is. Although, Sam’s definitely very cautious. But, I can’t even imagine. That would be crazy! Even if they could drink fake blood, I’d be scared. I’d move somewhere where there weren’t any vampires. I don’t want to feel like I’m on the menu.

MediaBlvd> What has it been like to work with Alan Ball? How involved has he been with everything?

Sam> Alan is so awesome! When I got the part, he invited me to lunch, where we just talked about the character and he asked me what I thought. He’s so collaborative with the actors. He has a lot of respect for all of the departments, and everything that everybody does, creatively, on the show, and he really respects actors. He stays out of your way and lets you do your thing, but at the same time, he also knows the world and the tone so well that he just gives you great notes. The atmosphere that he creates on the set is so relaxed. He’s just a confident guy. He’s not insecure. A lot of people that you work with need to flaunt and express their power, and he’s not at all like that. It felt like we were making this little home movie at this studio in Hollywood because it was just so relaxed. And, his attitude trickled down to everybody else. There was really so little stress on the set, and it was a relaxed atmosphere, and yet we got everything done. He is just wonderful to work with, and he’s such a good writer. He creates these great characters, and really, really rich character scenes to do with other people. He’s really been fantastic! He’s really friendly. The great thing is that he’s got all those things, and then you see the product and he just really nails it. I had high expectations for the show, but just seeing how he blended all those different genres, it was really exciting. He has such a sense of what’s good.

MediaBlvd> Were you prepared for the attention that you’re receiving from the success of this show?

Sam> No. I had no idea. I’ve done a lot of very low-profile movies and TV shows that just didn’t really break into the big mainstream. It’s a good problem to have. I hope people really love it and get it. Also, I hope Charlaine’s readers dig it. We went to Comic-Con in San Diego, and there was dedication there. It’s the time of the vampire right now, with Twilight coming out too. I was so unprepared.

MediaBlvd> If the attention from this series helps lead to other projects for you, what kind of roles are you hoping to do in your career? Are there types of characters or specific genres that you’d like to do?

Sam> For me, I’d be psyched to do almost anything that’s good. I haven’t done much comedy in the last couple of years, so that would be great. And, I’d love to do some action movies too. I’m supposed to do this kung-fu movie in Columbia, called Unshakable, that they’re finishing getting the financing for. It will be a trip to go there and do something like that. Alan Ball is definitely a hard act to follow, but as long as I can have choices and be able to stay busy, I’ll be happy. I just like to work, and if I can work on some good quality stuff, that would be great.

MediaBlvd> Would you like to return to the theater, at some point?

Sam> Yeah. I haven’t done a play in about two and a half years, and I would like to go back and do a play on hiatus, if there’s something good out there.