You've been done with shooting this season for a while now, right?
Oh yeah, man. I've got a beard and long hair and everything.
Is that your bit of post-season rebellion?
Completely. Anytime I'm not currently in a job and I have to have a set hairstyle, I just let it go. I want to be ready for the next part, whether it's short or long or whatever. I always say that my hair is not my own, it belongs to my characters.
So how long was it when you went in for True Blood?
Dude, my hair was so long. 2009 was such a rough year for the industry in general, I can't even remember how many jobs I had. I think I had done Mad Men and a few cool guest spots, but nothing major, so my hair was super, super long. [The producers] were like, "We want to go short," so we spent about six to seven hours cutting my hair in stages, doing different looks, and sending photos to Alan [Ball] -- who would be like, "No. Shorter. Shorter" -- till we finally finished.
How did that initial audition go?
One of the funny things about anybody who goes in for True Blood and ends up in a producers session is that Alan always sits really close. The room isn't that huge and they have this big L couch, and Alan sits right at the end, right in front of you while you're auditioning. People are always like, "Dude, I was knocking knees with Alan Ball!" He always likes to be right up in the action, and it's nerve-wracking. It threw me off a bit, I was like, "Uh, Academy-Award-winning writer in my face..." [Laughs]
Were you excited that you character started working at Merlotte's, so you could finally share scenes with actors you hadn't yet gotten to?
Oh, I was so excited. No knock on Sam [Trammell], I love working with him and I'm very lucky that I get to be with him all the time in my storyline, but when I got the job at Merlotte's and I started getting scenes with Lafayette, Arlene, Jessica, and Hoyt, I was like, "Yes. Get me in with everybody! Have Sookie come back, I want to talk trash with Bill, anything!"
It seems like Tommy is interested in Jessica. What's to come for those two?
When Tommy likes something, he goes right after. it. We were watching The Dog Whisperer the other day and they had a pitbull on there, and he said, "When a pitbull wants to fight, pain doesn't stop it, it only fuels it. It knows no limits to get what it wants." It's kind of like Tommy, a little bit.
Are you worried that the fans who are so invested in seeing Hoyt with Jessica will come after you with pitchforks?
No, I have a feeling it's not going to be so bad. [Pause] I don't know. OK, fine, I'm gonna be honest: Yeah, I am a little bit worried. [Laughs] But in the back of my mind, I'm like, "How could they not love Tommy? He's so awesome." He doesn't waver at all, and I think in the back of every woman's mind, they want a Tommy to come after them like they're the hottest thing on the planet. We'll see, I might turn a few fans.
By the way, how tall is Jim Parrack, who plays Hoyt? He looked huge in the last episode.
He's seven foot three. I want to make sure you get that accurate. He's seven foot three and I'm six foot two, and that's all you need to know. [Laughs]
How does it feel that there's not a corresponding character in the books?
It's so funny that you bring that up, because even though there's no "set arc" for Tommy, the actual arc for who Tommy is and what he does was so clear from the writing team. I felt so lucky to come in and every week, it was really solid writing that gave me a clear picture of where I was headed. It didn't feel like for any moment, they still had to figure out who Tommy was. I have to pinch myself that Alan came up with this part and thought I was right for it. It's like, "Man, I'm not even in the books and I'm on the freakin' show this much?" I'm very grateful.
Joe Manganiello said that the first thought that went through his mind when he booked this job was, "I'm gonna have to get naked." Was that the first thing you thought?
No, the first thing I thought was "Thank God I'm employed." The second thought was, "Thank God I'm employed on a show I actually like." And then the third thought was, "OK, I should probably work out, because I'm gonna have to show my ass."
Obviously, everyone has to go nude on True Blood at some point, but as a shape shifter, it's a little more common.
Oh man, dude. I'm freaking assin' around, dude.
But now that the season is over, can you eat pizza again?
Aw dude, after the season was over, I stopped shaving and I definitely did stop working out. This week, I was like, "Marshall, you gotta start working out again, November's coming up [when the next season resumes]." But it's good, I actually enjoy the motivation to work out. I heard Christian Bale talking about how he has some hardcore workout routine and he hates it, but I don't hate it. I love it.
You lie, Marshall Allman. What's to love?
There's the exhilaration of knowing you've done your body good.
Eh.
When I was younger, I was an Olympic-training soccer player, so I've known a really high level of fitness. When you're not there anymore, it's like your body yearns to be back in that shape. It wants to be free, man! It wants to be unchained, and now it feels chained.
You were an Olympic-training soccer player?
Yeah, I was in the Olympic program when I was younger. I was very hardcore, running hills every day and crazy in shape.
Do you still play?
I'm like a hugely passionate soccer fan. I mean, the World Cup was awesome for me, until we lost. That was really disappointing to me. I was at the last game in Germany when we lost, so the revenge for me was through the roof. I was like Eric [on True Blood] chasing after revenge for his father's death, man, except that I didn't really have sex with a man to get my tickets for the World Cup. [Laughs] But I was through the roof with [the Ghana game], I think I maybe broke down a couple of times. I've started to play again a little bit, but injuries ended my career the first time, so I have to take it really slow. If I don't, I'll think that I can still play where I was, but it took me years and years to get to that level. I have to mentally tell myself, "Marsh, take it slow."
I wanted to ask you about your Prison Break costar Wentworth Miller. I talked to him recently and he's carved out this really unexpected niche all of a sudden as a successful secret screenwriter. Did you ever have any inkling of that?
You know, he's like a genius. I think he graduated from Princeton? The guy's got a mind that could run forever, so when I heard that, I was like, "Way to go, dude!" I'm really glad for him, because I think he was getting attacked in the press. Someone was showing me pictures of him being overweight, and they were like, "What's up with your boy Wentworth, man? He's getting' fat!" I was like, "Aw man," but then to hear that he got two screenplays picked up and he's in Resident Evil, it's like, "Yeah, that's right. Don't pick on people for being overweight, or whatever." So I couldn't be happier for him, and it doesn't surprise me at all. He's a very, very, very intelligent man who knows exactly what he's doing with his life.
You were on Mad Men as Miss Farrell's brother. Whenever I interview a woman who was on Mad Men, they rave about the clothes. You're a guy, though, and your wardrobe on the show was...
I was like the worst wardrobe in the history of that show! I was like the first semi-homeless person to be on Mad Men. I didn't get to experience the slinky clothes at all, my sister on the show did not have a swanky apartment...about the swankiest thing I got to do was sit on Don Draper's leather seats in his swanky little Lincoln. But I can't say enough about working with Jon Hamm, I had a blast. Working with Matthew Weiner, he was great. I feel like we really got along because I'm someone who really loves to be neurotic about my work, so when I meet someone else who's also equally as attentive to detail, it's like a joy for me.
There's a funny story he remembered when I saw him the other month...it was like the night before we were shooting and I had a question, but it was nine o'clock at night. I was kinda like, "Well, whatever, I'll just call the production office and see if a writer's around." So I called the production office and this guy answers, and he's like, "Uh, hello?" And I'm like, "Matthew?" And he's like, "Yeah?" "What the hell are you doing answering the phones, man?" And he was like, "Who's this?" And I said, "It's Marshall Allman, I'm playing [Miss Farrell's] brother." And he said, "Oh, hey man." I couldn't believe it, and then me and Matthew Weiner ended up talking for forty-five minutes until ten o'clock at night about the character. It was great, man. I'd be really excited to go back, but that hasn't happened yet, so we'll see.
[Lead Photo Credit: Matt Carr/Getty Images]