This week, I had the opportunity to interview Carolyn Hennesy, who has joined the cast of True Blood. The new season will not only focus on supernatural elements, but gives us a better look at the Vampire Authority. A number of actors have joined the cast as Authority members, and Carolyn will be playing a vampire named Rosalyn Harris.
During our interview time, I had a chance to learn quite a bit of background information on her character and what we can expect to see on the vampire side of things in True Blood Season 5.
I understand that you are playing one of the members of the Vampire Authority. Can you tell me about the casting process?
Carolyn Hennesy: I auditioned during a producer session. Alan Ball really knows what he wants, so he got a group of auditioners together and to see which person would blend best with his vision of the Authority. It was a very quick audition and a few hours later, I got a call from my agent saying “you’re a vampire.”
Were you a fan of the TV show before hand?
Carolyn Hennesy: I had not watched it because we didn’t get HBO, but I picked it up the day I got the role. It was during Christmas, so instead of wrapping and baking, I spent 10 days watching all 48 episodes. It was the best Christmas present I gave to myself.
Is this type of content new for you or are you a horror fan?
Carolyn Hennesy: My favorite channel is The Chiller Channel. I love the horror and sci-fi genre. You give me that over a romantic comedy any day.
How many episodes will you appear in? Are you are recurring character or is this more of a cameo role?
Carolyn Hennesy: I’m filming my 7th episode right now. As my twitter followers know, I’ve been Tweeting about my excitement for months now. Rosalyn Harris is a Vampire Authority member and one of the most powerful vampires in the world.
Is Rosalyn based off of any character from the book series? Have you had a chance to read them?
Carolyn Hennesy: I didn’t read any of the books, but I do have the Sookie Stackhouse Companion and have been referring to that a lot. However, we’ve deviated from story and are apparently no longer really adhering to the books.
I’ve heard that on top of seeing more of the Vampire Authority, this season will be dealing with supernatural elements. Is that something your character is involved in?
Carolyn Hennesy: As it stands right now, Rosalyn is not involved in that. I know that fairies and werewolves are still big, but the Authority doesn’t really deal with that. The Authority is all about furthering the mainstream agenda.
Chris Meloni and Peter Mensah are among the new actors who have joined the cast as Authority members. Has most of your time been with them or have you been interacting with many of the main cast members as well?
Carolyn Hennesy: The Authority is very isolated. We are only dealing with Authority issues, and the only two main cast members that we interact with are Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgård. We’ve been “dealing” with them. Sometimes harshly, sometimes not. I think it’s going to be a really great season.
In earlier seasons, we knew that there was this group called the Authority, but now we get to meet them and see what they are all about… and where they live, which is also really cool.
The only official information I’ve read about Rosalyn is that she’s a Texas vampire with “hair high enough to interfere with air traffic.” What else can you tell me about her?
Carolyn Hennesy: Rosalyn is in Texas now, but she is incredible old, so where she came before is to be revealed. For the last 250 years, she has made Texas her great big love. She helped to settle the west and to expand this country. She found that everything with Texas really resonated with her. She really loves Texas in the late 60's/70's with the really big hair and pearls with everything. She’s just a good ol’ gal. She enjoys a good cigar and can hang with the men, but still be just as feminine as any lady out there. She’s full of home spun wisdom and has a tremendous sense of humor, but she’ll kill you if you cross her.
Do we get to see any flashbacks?
Carolyn Hennesy: Not yet, but we shall see…
We are all in the middle of filming episode 7 right now. There is only one person who can answer that and his name is Alan Ball. I hope so, because it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. It’s fantastic.
Have you been interacting much with the True Blood fan community? Are you looking forward to more of that when the season starts?
Carolyn Hennesy: Because of General Hospital, Cougar Town, and my Children books, I have quite a large number of Twitter followers. I’ve been sharing information with them and I’ve been having True Blood fans following me. I can’t say much, though. I only tease.
Will you be attending Comic Con to promote the new season?
Carolyn Hennesy: If they ask me, I sure will. If someone says “Comic Con”, I’ll say “Tell me where to be.” I would not say no to meeting True Blood fans.
For our readers familiar with your other work, what’s next for you?
Carolyn Hennesy: Check out my book series called the Pandora series. You can find it on Amazon. Book six drops in June. It’s for kids 8 and up and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. If you know any 8 year old girls you can get them this book and be their hero. It’s really wonderful.
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I want to thank Carolyn for taking the time to talk to us about her character in True Blood Season 5. As mentioned in the interview, the new season is currently filming and will return this summer with 12 new episodes. To learn more about Carolyn Hennesy, you can visit her on Twitter at: @CarolynHennesy
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