Gregg Daniel – True Blood

Q) What is in store the remainder of the season for Reverend Daniels?

A) I think what is great about Reverend Daniels is he is learning a whole new world. Obviously, he comes from religion, but now that he is married to Lettie Mae he is learning how to accommodate his faith and how to save this woman. He is stretching into boundaries he didn’t know before. It’s a real challenging relationship not only with them, but with the community as well. She has become more and more involved in this community. So, it’s not a loss of faith, but it is how his faith is being tested and stretched at this same time. He has to accommodate these different types of people whether they are vampires, shapeshifters or werewolves. Suddenly, he is in a world where he has to extend his faith in a way he hasn’t before to save the woman he loves. It’s essentially a love story. He loves this woman dearly and he wants to save her.

Q) We learned how Reverend Daniels came to the community. What about his background stood out to you the most?

A) I was so pleased they did this because I remember when I came in during Season 3 I was previously married. He seemed like he was going to be a ne’er-do-well kind of minister. He was a guy that may have been like Jerry Falwell or someone like that who has fallen. There was excellent monologue that one of our executive producers Brian Buckner wrote. I got on my laptop and wrote him when I first read the script for the episode “Sanctum” because I think it was so important to learn where Daniels came from, where he is now and where he is heading. So, it grounded the character for me and in the community. We learned about all the pain in his life as well. So, in many ways, he and Lettie Mae are quite a match in terms of the pains of their past relationships and the oasis they try to build for each other. It was very important that the monologue came along and grounded the character in the world of “True Blood.” Otherwise, I would have always felt like, “But who is he? Where does he come from?” And the words were just so beautiful The speech was so simple yet gentle and powerful. I had never done it before, but I actually wrote the writer and thanked him for caring enough about this character to give him a legitimate background and legitimate life. From that moment on, I could carry on knowing I am fully invested in this character and in this community, this world of “True Blood.”

Q) Was there anything then that you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) When I had the audition five years ago, I didn’t want him to be a fire and brimstone minister. I didn’t want to bring this fiery Southern Baptist screaming minister. Even when I auditioned, I wanted to keep him grounded. Obviously, Alan Ball and the rest of them agreed with me. Even when he is in church preaching and having a sermon, I don’t try to get too fiery or go for the emotions. I’m trying to go for a connection with the intellects and the hearts of people, not a performer which a Southern Baptist minister should be. So, my approach was to keep this guy simple, keep him real and keep it brilliant. I didn’t want to play the stereotypical Southern Baptist fire and brimstone Southern minister. And the producers and writers have always backed me up. I never say in my sermons, “Can I get an ‘Amen?'” because that sounds like too cliché. I always say, “Let the church say ‘Amen.'” That was an important distinction for me. When I say, “Let the church say ‘Amen,'” it just feels to me that I am appealing to the hearts and minds of the people rather than something emotional. That was always my approach to this minister, to keep him simple and grounded and don’t play the fiery guy. To me, that’s not real and that wouldn’t work for me.

Q) We’ve seen him bring salvation and faith to Lettie Mae. Will we get to see him bring this kind of peace to others?

A) Absolutely! Again, I think he is extending himself to the community in a way he hadn’t before. I think he will be of solace to some other people. Again, solace for himself, too. It’s one thing to preach to true believers, but when you have to take on people whose faith is different or being tested you have to come out of yourself. So, I really think he is doing the real minister work now with all of these broken souls. Alcide has been murdered and with Tara’s death, my goodness! This is a community in crisis. So, he has to come out of himself. He has to reach out, care and nurture these people. He will offer himself in a way that will be helpful, nurturing and provide solace to other members of the community. And this is one of the things I’m really excited about, that this reverend is being tested. His faith is being tested.

Q) What was going through your mind when you read the scripts of Tara’s death and Alcide’s death?

A) Just the concept of people dying like with Tara, people who have been here since the beginning (Lettie Mae’s daughter) and then with Alcide, I think the writers aren’t trying to play it safe. This is our final season. So, rather than tie things up together in a nice little bow and “they live happily ever after” I think taking that risk by killing off a major character shows there are consequences and there are risks and tragedies. So, to start the season off with Tara getting killed and then later on Alcide it is just really a bold way to say, “We’ll tie up the season. We’ll give you closure, but it is not going to be easy. We’re not going to do it simply and gently. There are going to be costs and there is going to be tragedy.” So, while I was shocked that they would kill off Tara, I was also understanding. I was like, “Yeah, let’s take some risks. Let’s end this in a way that happens in life. Let’s end this in a way where there are tragedies and good people that die. There are people that die accidentally. Sure, let’s give them a fairytale ending, but let’s give our loyal fans something they can believe. In this world of Bon Temps, there are tragedies.” So, while I was shocked, I also said, “Right on writers for being bold and courageous enough to take this risk to kill off these characters.”

Q) Talk a little bit about the relationship you have cultivated with Adina Porter.

A) I was lucky because I have known Adina since twenty to twenty-five years ago. One of the reasons I started watching “True Blood” was because I knew Adina was on it. We had done theater together in New York for quite some time and when I finally moved out to Los Angeles we did a few shows together starring as a couple. So, I was thrilled when I first saw Adina Porter and saw her being used more and more because she is a fabulous actress. She was then and she is now. Little did I know that I would be a guest star that would develop into a relationship where we would end up married. So, we had a preexisting relationship which made it all the better. It’s because I trust her that I trust in these scenes and I can be emotionally available to her and she with me. So, if anything, our relationship was that much warmer and closer as a result of having a previously existing relationship, but also trusting each other as much as we do.

Q) Who did you not get to film with or film that often with that you most wanted to work with?

A) I wish I had more things with Anna [Paquin]. When I tend to be around it is the church setting and I am preaching to the community. Without it being a spoiler, I will have a chance to work with her later on in the season, but I think she is a fabulous actress. What she has done with Sookie is something only she could have done. And I always wanted to work a little bit more with her. A scene, rather than a community setting. I always wanted to have a little bit more with her. Stephen Moyer, her husband, directed the first episode of our season. It was like, “Oh! How long have you been on the show? We never worked together!” He was wonderful to work with, but we both had this acknowledgement that we had been there for seasons, but our paths never crossed unless we’re doing a table read as a group. Once the table read is done, if you don’t have a specific scene with that character you don’t really see these people for the next few weeks or months or more. So, we both started laughing that we finally got to work together with him as a director and me as an actor when seven seasons had gone by and we’d never done anything together. That was a real blessing. He’s such a good director maybe because he is informed being an actor. But he is a wonderful director. He really took a lot of care in helping my performance and building my performance. That was a big plus to have the chance to work with Stephen Moyer.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable scenes to film from “True Blood?”

A) A few seasons back when Lettie Mae and I were trying to exorcise some ghosts. It is just so funny. We were called in by Arlene’s family to exercise some ghosts. So, we used incense and sage walking around. There was something so wonderfully absurd, but sincere about it. We really thought this was the way we could get rid of the ghosts and demons. We were so committed to it and Adina and I are running around this room saying, “Get up in the corner because that’s where the demons hide! Let’s smoke them out up there!” It was just absurd. It was absurd in my mind and a lot of my friends said, “You guys are just so funny!” We weren’t trying to be. Lettie Mae and the reverend are really dedicated to chasing away these evil spirits, but it was the kind of exorcism we did by blessing the house that I thought was a hoot. I just really enjoyed those moments.

Q) What do you hope remains the legacy of the show?

A) I hope people remember it’s not just a vampire show, but it is about vampires that are trying to love. Yes, it’s a show about vampires and other creatures, but at the heart of it is a love story. Sookie and Bill and many other relationships center or travel around the fact that people are trying to love each other. People are trying to love each other and find ways to be intimate with each other. So, I hope they don’t remember it as “that vampire show where they sucked blood and fangs came out.” There were vampires and other creatures who really wanted to have tender and nurturing relationships. I think that’s the appeal of “True Blood,” quite frankly. The vampire story is a given and it’s a backdrop, but the center of “True Blood” is how do these people (whatever gender, race or species) get together. How do they become intimate? How do they learn to love each other not only in a relationship, but as a community? How do you bring together the two communities of humans and non-humans? I’m hoping that will be the legacy of “True Blood,” not that it was a show about vampires. It’s about people trying to love each other and to learn how to be intimate.