It's hard to improve upon the hotness that is "True Blood"'s tasty trifecta of gentlemanly vampire Bill Compton, dim-witted Jason Stackhouse and tough-as-nails sheriff Eric Northman. Yet, somehow, the characters' real-life counterparts have done just that in the May issue of Details .
The actors (Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten and Alexander Skarsgård) look good enough to eat in a collection of three covers (they each grace their own) and an accompanying photospread. Oh, and there are words to go with those pretty pictures too! In the issue, the men talk about preparing for their juicy roles, steamy sex scenes and Bill's quirky pronunciation of his beloved's name.
As is often the case in Hollywood, Alexander's first audition wasn't for the character he inevitably portrayed—it was actually for Bill Compton. "Alex wasn't quite right for Bill," recalls creator Alan Ball, "but I remember that he was giant and also beautiful. So when it came time to cast Eric, I thought of him. He's got the most amazing eyes. Because of their color—they're an amazing greenish blue—he's able to do this thing with them where he loses focus but remains totally focused."
Much like his costar Deborah Ann Woll, Alexander perfected his creepy killer gaze by watching wild animals. "It's, like, you see this big male lion, and he's chilling in the sun, and he sits up and he looks at something, and you don't know if he's going to pounce or if he's just going to go back to sleep," Alexander says. "You never know if he's bored or he's frustrated or what."
Costar Ryan's preparation for filming is a little different—seeing as he's naked half the time. Yet, the Aussie is pretty unfazed by nudity and instead, focuses on making his female costar comfortable. "I'm very comfortable with my body. Most of the time the girl is going to be more scared of the scene than me," he says. "So I make a pact with them like, 'Let's be in this together. I've got your back and you have mine.'"
Funny enough, Alan insists he had no idea what lay beneath when he cast Ryan. "He came on to the set and I thought, 'What the hell is that?' But it was a total asset. Part of what makes the whole Jason package attractive is that he's so comfortable in his own skin."
While Ryan is known for his frequent shirtlessness, Stephen's raspy, prolonged pronunciation of fiancee Anna Paquin's character's name has become a bit of his trademark. "We were given that pronunciation very early on by Charlaine Harris herself," says Stephen, referring to the author of the series the show is based on. "Sookie rhymes with cookie. It doesn't rhyme with kooky."
So does Stephen ever call Anna by her alias at home?
"All the time," Stephen jokes. "When she's chained up."
What do you think of Detail's sexy "True Blood" photoshoot? Which cover is your favorite?
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