Chris Bauer – True Blood

By starrymag | August 17, 2014

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

A) I am all finished with “The Divide” and I am rehearsing this David Mamet play called Race in Los Angeles. “The Divide” was an interesting situation because (as a bit of a spoiler) I’m only in the first two episodes. Then, I was in the movie Temps. That’s an old fashioned independent comedy film with a bunch of kids.

Q) Is it still hard to fathom that “True Blood” is almost ending?

A) It’s starting to sink in, to tell you the truth. It kind of goes in layers. I have a feeling there are a lot more layers to go, in terms of sinking in. At least it is starting to feel pretty much real that I’ll never play that guy again. It’s very sad. I try not to think about it too much because it is so sad. The idea of this character who has been so good to me and I’m just turning him loose.

Q) You’ll still be able to stay in touch with the cast through social media and by phone.

A) Yes, our friendships are pretty real. I’m grateful for that because I have just enjoyed their company so much and grown to respect them so much. They have totally enriched me and, selfishly, I want that around for years and years. One of the things that doesn’t come up that often was that “True Blood” was so good to those of us with families because not only were we making a really good living, but there were so many characters that the work schedule was never all that heavy. it was for the crew, but for the actors it wasn’t. So, we got all this time with our kids while we were doing this great job. It was like, “Are you kidding me? Somebody pinch me!”

Q) What was your last day on set like for “True Blood?”

A) It was very sad and at the same time exciting. Everybody, I think in their own way, was really deliberate, conscious and careful to express their feelings for one another. People took it very seriously that they weren’t going to see each other for a while so they wanted to make sure nothing was unsaid. That’s what made it sad because everyone was moved by the experience as I was. I’m a big softy, but everyone had gifts for one another. There was a lot of tears. I’m happy to say that I was a little bit self conscious about it. John Slattery, who was on “Mad Men” forever, is a friend of mine. He asked, “How was it when your show ended?” I said, “It was really sad.” He told me, “Oh thank God! Me too! We all burst into tears when it was over.” It’s so intense when you do a show for that long. It’s sort of a weird combination because you never expect it to go that long in the first place that when it does you never think it’s truly going to end.

Q) What mementos did you take from the set?

A) I have a menu that is on my dining room table in my real house that is from Bellefleur’s. I also have my chair from set. And I have a couple little knickknacks here and there that I will keep in my office. Those are the objects, but I have memories that will haunt me forever.

Q) What have been your most memorable moments that stand out from filming “True Blood” over the years?

A) Well, there are so many. I have a really, really good memory that I tend to obsessively replay over and over in my mind. I remember literally filming everything. I remember the first time they picked me up at the airport in Los Angeles because when “True Blood” started I lived in New York. I remember the pilot and my first reaction to Ryan Kwanten. I remember the confrontation with Nelsan Ellis in 2007. I remember starving myself because I could just tell (even though nobody told me) that I was going to have to be naked. There was the orgy ordeal. I remember when Bud Dearborne (William Sanderson) got killed. I remember shooting that scene in a giant pen that was literally filled shoulder-to-shoulder with pigs. There was that giant pig in the second season who I did some of my best work with of my career. It goes on and on! I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody else this, but when we were shooting scenes in the second season it was not far from where I had grown up. Our trailers were in a parking lot in a mall in Southern California and it was in a town that I had grown up in until I was about eleven or twelve years old. I looked across the street and my trailer was looking directly at the church I had made my first communion in as a second grader. It was such a real, quantum-physical experience of time because I could see my little second grader self walking down those steps. Now, my forty year old self was looking across the street from my trailer that was my home away from home on a TV series. It was just such a rich experience.

Q) Who were you looking forward to working with more in Season 7 or never got a chance to work with at all that you had hoped to have scenes to share, but never did?

A) All I can say is we are almost completely through and you get a really good idea that the whole town is involved. I feel very sated that I got to cross off almost everybody on my list of who I got at least got to have a line or two with. There are a couple that escaped, but that is because there can only be so much overlapping between the human world and supernatural world.

Q) What do you hope legacy is for “True Blood?”

A) Thanks for asking that. I hope that in time the show kind of gets out from under itself. It’s kind of become a whipping post in a way. It just seems like it became very easy to criticize on a media level. And that’s okay, but that show is responsible for a lot of business for a lot of people, a lot of networks for other shows and a lot of other actors. When we did the pilot, Twilight hadn’t even been released. There wasn’t a ton of supernatural genre programming on TV. There were a couple of shows, but not many. I think that since then (not because of “True Blood,” but certainly since then) it has enhanced the momentum of other projects. We opened the door for a lot of people. So, I would like to be remembered for that. And I’d also like to be thought of as part of a company that created a show that was very original and struck a really particular tone that had it’s own kind of symbolic music. It was one of those things that looked really easy to do, but wasn’t.

Q) You were recently at Comic-Con for the first time so you got to experience all the fan appreciation for this incredible show.

A) The reputation of Comic-Con was so clear. I had seen Morgan Spurlock’s documentary on Comic-Con so I feel like I had a pretty good impression of what to expect. It was all that and more and I loved every second of it. But the highlight, by far, for me was when we did our panel. At the end of the panel (there was 4,000 plus people in there), most of the people stood up and gave us a round of applause. That was so powerful and so moving because I could feel how sincere it was. I always knew the fans of this show were really authentic and really genuine. I felt that. I felt that from them. It was real. It wasn’t hyped. It was real. And that’s why we did it. We did it for all the people that stand in line. We did it for all the people that watch the show over and over. Not one scene was shot without that crowd in mind.

Q) Was there one scene that you noted at the Season 7 table read that you thought would stand out to fans?

A) Yeah, but you haven’t seen it yet though.

Q) What can you tease is in store for the final episodes of “True Blood?”

A) The show is going to be over. Several Sundays from now “True Blood” will not be on.

Q) Andy has such a connection to Adilyn. Talk about your relationship with Bailey Noble.

A) I feel very connected to Bailey because I saw her whole path from the beginning. When she was first introduced, in the first few episodes, we were primarily the only two people in the scenes. She is a very unique, thoughtful person who has a great naturalistic warm open presence on camera. It’s been terrific to see her grow and see her confidence increase. It’s especially exciting to see people embrace her and her work the way she deserves. In particular, my chemistry with her really evolved to the point where when we first met I was a regular on the show so I was character that had been around for a long time and she was brand new. She has great manners and she is very respectful and very present. We were doing a scene where Stephen Moyer was directing and he wanted to get a particular reaction out of her. When the cameras were on her, I stopped doing the lines and started improvising to try to scare her. The way I did that, I just started yelling at her. Like really yelling at her. She laughed. She openly laughed in my face, which was so embarrassing. On the other hand, it was gratifying because she had grown comfortable enough with me to not be scared. I’m telling you, the harder I tried to freak her out the more she found me funny. I was like, I guess we officially established the parent-child chemistry here.

Q) You recently joined Twitter. Are you enjoying the instant fan feedback you receive after the episodes air?

A) I love it! I was a Twitter hater because of very profound theories of keeping the audience and the performer separate so the two of us as groups can be free to explore our natural tendencies according to our purpose. I don’t think it is a good idea for actors ever to really to be too mindful of how the audience is going to respond to their work. I think that’s true for writers as well. But I think that the other side of it is that I (with some exceptions) have found a really restored optimism in the nature of the audience and how generous…I always thought the audience was an incredibly and purely generous social group, social dynamic. When you have a chance to hear peoples’ gracious response to the worked you have done for them it feels really good! This is going to sound so weird, but I have just such reverence for the audience because for thousands of years they have been the whole point of all of this art. I hate the idea of them being manipulated and the idea of them being exploited. I hate the idea of them being taken for granted or being thought of as less intelligent than they are. I think the whole social media thing in the wrong hands can be taken advantage of and I just feel very committed to respecting the audience always as the whole point of the endeavor. When I read things like articles from media executives who sort of refer to the audience or fans as “content makers” that just makes me feel mad. They are not content makers. They are the most important person in the room. We don’t get to say how you spend your money. Ideally, you spend your money according to what you think and I would just like to keep it that way.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who has been a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) Thank you for your patience. And thank you for your faith. I will stay open if you stay open. Let’s all grow together!