Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) The most recent thing I did was "Burn Notice" and I am putting something on tape for a film based out of London called Cold Blood Kills. It is an audition I got.

Q) Please tell us about your character Liam on the show "True Blood."

A) I will be in the second and third episode. I did the seventh episode, too. That's exciting! I think it's been getting some good buzz and some good press. In the fictional world of how Alan Ball (the creator and writer) sees vampires and how the author (Charlaine Harris) of the book series see it, the age you were and the clothes you wore from the time you died is who you are. Together with the wardrobe designer, they figured Liam was just an aspiring punk-rocker from the 80's. He's not very fashionable. That's when Liam got bit and became a vampire. Liam hangs out with these other vampires Malcolm and Diane. The three of them aren't so happy about the synthetic blood because they still like the real stuff. They think they're above the vampire law and the American Constitution. They just kind of take what they want.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) Alan Ball just has such great taste. American Beauty is most people's favorite film and certainly is one of mine. His aesthetic and his taste are so exquisite. He's funny and there are just not many writers like him. Any kind of vampire thing could be taken as gore for gore's sake or horror for horror's sake. You knew with Alan Ball there would be a sense of intelligence about it. That was very intriguing. It was basically a dream role to be able to play something fantastic, a vampire in the world of...Well, I'm not going to compare Alan Ball to Shakespeare, but I don't know that there are many better writers out there in terms of his taste, I find. It was like a dream project. Really, I think probably if you were to ask anybody (Anna Paquin or anyone) they'd give you the same answer. It basically would be doing like "Power Rangers" written by Shakespeare. It's like doing something really goofy and really fun, but like doing it exquisitely.

Q) What about your role do you find challenging?

A) I would say it would be any time you had to do something stereotypical that a vampire would do. For instance, like if you bite someone's neck or show your fangs, you had to kind of erase your memory of all the vampires you've seen like Christopher Lee or Bela Lugosi and just kind of find your own original way of what you would do if you had to things. Then, you had to not judge yourself for doing that. Everyone has on their mind, "I want to suck your blood," the cape, raising your arms and all that. That's not at all what Alan Ball was going for with any of this. It's about letting yourself go, just use your imagination and trust yourself.

Q) Where do you draw from for your portrayal?

A) I think it was a real key to me when I met with the wardrobe guy. They told me when I auditioned for the role that it was more about connecting with blood lust and this urgency to feed. When I met with the wardrobe person, he shared with me that they saw this guy as a loser punk-rocker from the 80's. Punk-rock is already ten years dead. It made me think, "Oh, ok. So, here's a guy who is human or vampire who tries really hard to fit in." That was kind of fun for me and something I could hook into.

Q) What has been your most memorable moment from filming "True Blood?"

A) One of the most fun things I remember was when Ryan Kwanten (who plays Sookie's brother) and I had a scene in the third episode...Well, it's barely a scene, but it is like a hallucination where we're basically in bed together. It was pretty ridiculous and pretty funny shooting this kind of absurd, for lack of better words, sex scene. He's like almost sucking on my toes. I can't describe it too much without giving it away. It was pretty damn funny! When you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about. Ryan Kwanten has a great sense of humor and he's a really great guy. It was a little uncomfortable to do, but it was fun. That was probably my best memory.

Q) Why will people want to take their time to tune in to see the show?

A) Again, I think it comes back to Alan Ball. Ultimately, in stories, I think people want to know what they are going to get, but they want to be surprised getting it. When you mention vampires, they are incredibly sexual creatures. Every story is always about the vampire who is the male and then there is a female human that falls in love with the vampire and the danger there. That's at the base of every vampire story, even this one. People want to see that. Girls love the bad boys. That's what this is. You want to see and you want to indulge in that fantasy. Alan Ball surprises! He gives you that fantasy, but he's surprising you with it. I'm not singling females out here. For men, on the other side, watching it they would probably empathize with the man and the power involved. So, for a man watching that part of the film it's about power. It's that power fantasy. In this world, the specific attributes of the vampires that are given by Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball are phenomenal strengths and constitution. Some of them can fly and human beings can't do that. It's almost like a superhero. What I think Alan Ball's aesthetic brings is a really simple humanity, which brings a sense of humor to it. The big film this summer was Iron Man with Robert Downey, Jr. He's not Vin Deisel, but why was Robert Downey, Jr. so great in that role? His sense of humor is so sharp and then he puts on the Iron Man suit and does his super hero thing. When he takes it off, you have Robert Downey, Jr. again. There is always that point - counterpoint with those kind of characters, those larger than life characters. You want them to have a real deep sense of humanity.

Q) What is it about this show then that sets it apart from others of the vampirism genre?

A) I think it's exactly that thing...Not to say that it doesn't take itself seriously, because I think it is the opposite. I think it takes itself incredibly seriously and by doing that, the audience is allowed to laugh. It's still just a show about the relationships in a small town where there is a lot of prejudice. It just so happens that the victims of that happen to have super powers and crave human blood. It's still like a Southern conflict series where people are falling in love with each other when they shouldn't be, the Romeo and Juliet thing.

Q) What made you want to be an actor?

A) I just loved to play. I love to use my imagination and it's fun. I think when anybody who does theater...it's kind of an awful word, but you kind of get addicted to the lives and the experience of that. That's essentially what acting is. Even when you're on set, those few minutes that you're doing your take, that's your little theater for the moment. It's that feeling of you're using someone else's words to affect someone else emotionally. That's really special. Again, it's the wrong word to use, but it's the issue of power. To be able to make people laugh is a real gift. A lot of people look at acting and think anybody can do it and everybody wants to do it. Ultimately, it's a pretty great gift to get the opportunity to do that.

Q) Where can people go online to learn more about you?

A) You can Google my name and I do have a Myspace account under my name. I keep that up to date with what's coming up for me. I have an episode of "Nip/Tuck" and I just did an episode of "Saving Grace." I've also got all these "True Blood" episodes coming out. I write, as well, and produce short films. I have a couple of those on there, too, that I've made with some friends and other industry people from Hollywood. I would say my Myspace page is my biggest way to show what I'm up to at the minute.