Tell me about your reaction to that monologue Alexander Woo wrote for you at the end of last week's episode. What did you think when you first read it?
It's a total gift. Every time we got a new script, you'd tear through it to see where you were, how many scenes you had, if the scenes were any good, if you had to cry, if you had to be naked...Of course, I got that script and was tearing through it, and I was like, "Oh no, big mourning scene [at the beginning of the episode]. It's gonna be so hard to play. And then I saw the little scene on the roof and thought, 'Oh dear, I only have two small scenes?' And I kept flipping, flipping, flipping and saw nothing, nothing, nothing, and then suddenly I came to that monologue and thought, "Oh my God." And I read the whole monologue and literally dropped the script on the ground after I finished, laughing. I couldn't believe it.
It's interesting, because you have to be scary and dramatic but also funny at the same time -- in fact, a lot of True Blood is like that. How do you nail that tone?
I just try to keep everything real, oddly enough. Whenever a character is doing something, there has to be a real reason for it, and nothing can be arbitrary, because the character doesn't know that he's playing a style. For that line at the end of the monologue, "And now for the weather, Tiffany," it's Russell glorying in his power and glorying in his ability to make human beings scared.
Are you ready for people to come up to you on the street quoting that line? Because it's going to happen.
It's kind of happening already. I've had a couple people ask me to say it again. The day after it aired, I had to come into town to do a play reading in Manhattan, and some guy on the street stopped me to say, "Dude, it's all we're talking about at the office. It's like the most important television I've seen in years!" I thought that was pretty funny.
Obviously, you've had great success on stage, but what is theater fame like compared to True Blood fame?
[Laughs] Theater fame is lovely, but it's a little smaller in scope.
You know, it's funny: I never even considered it because I didn't see a part for me in the world. Then I was shooting in Budapest, and I got a call from my agent saying that they had been in talks with Alan Ball, and how would I like to play the vampire king of Mississippi? It was so out of the blue, I was so shocked. I said, "Yes, absolutely, of course,' but then I was nervous that I wouldn't find the world, you know? I had never seen myself in that series, so there was a little bit of getting my head around it.
I think of you as a character actor with a whole lot of range, so why did you think this world would be so foreign to you?
I think it's just a matter of, when you're outside an experience looking in, it feels so different and you can't imagine how it might feel to be on the inside. Watching it as a viewer, I just couldn't imagine how I would suddenly show up. Once you get the script and begin reading it, you get an idea of how to do it, and when I got that first script, I was fine. But until then, it's all kind of a vague idea, and that's a little scary.
What did you think of the Rolling Stone cover?
It's pretty crazy. I was thinking about that today, how True Blood has penetrated so much of the cultural zeitgeist. It's truly amazing, it's incredible! The cover of Rolling Stone is major. What's next, the cover of Vanity Fair? When I'm in a New Yorker cartoon, then I will feel like I have made it. [Laughs]
Now I know we haven't seen it yet, but it's been rumored that you have an intimate scene coming up with Michael Steger from 90210. I can only imagine what Russell's mindset would be going into a love scene right now.
He's in a place of real grief. He's looking for Talbot again, and I think he's looking for anybody who looks like or feels like Talbot, in some desperate attempt to recapture that and recreate it.
Did you know when you signed on that you'd eventually have a sex scene?
We definitely know. When I did my contract, I got a little thing called a nudity rider. I said, "Oh?" and they said, "Everyone signs one." They don't want to negotiate with you later, they want it all taken care of up front. So it wasn't a complete surprise. I didn't think it would happen to me, because I'm not one of these young kids. But I'm in bed in the scene, I'm not totally nude. I'm "mostly unclothed."
You were the only one who wasn't naked in Take Me Out, so I feel like you're due.
Exactly, it's like revenge. The scene is "post-coital," let's put it that way. We get the aftermath, we don't get the actual event.
What's up with Russell's arranged marriage to Sophie-Anne now that Russell's on the warpath?
Again, I think that's what's funny about everyone on the show: You may start with a certain intention or goal, but you get knocked sideways by events. Where Russell thought he was going is not where he ends up, because events intervene. The death of Talbot and the death of the Magister are two massive, unforeseen circumstances that knock him for a loop and throw him off course.
I always hear the True Blood table reads are amazing, since the cast is so sprawling that it's often the only time you get to see everyone. Who haven't you worked with that you wanted to?
Oh God, I never got to work with Nelsan [Ellis], who plays Lafayette. I never got to work with Sam Trammell, and I love him and would love to play with him. Never got to work with Ryan Kwanten, who plays Jason, or Carrie Preston or Chris Bauer. You can't have everything, but I was hoping they would all end up at my mansion. For a while, everyone was ending up at my mansion: Eric came to my mansion, Franklin came to my mansion, Alcide came to my mansion, Debbie came to my mansion, I got Bill and Sookie there... I was like, "Everyone, come by my mansion!"
What can you tell me about The Eagle, the Kevin MacDonald war film you're in next year?
I play the commander of a Roman legion in England in 180 A.D., and Channing Tatum comes into my regiment and takes over. I end up a mentor to him in the first part of the movie, and then he goes off and searches for his missing father. it's a very intelligent movie. Jamie Bell is also in it, and he's a fantastic actor. I'm very excited to see it, because I think Kevin MacDonald makes very interesting, quality movies.
Between that and True Blood, you've no doubt worn some interesting costumes.
I have! I got to wear the full Roman gear in Eagle. I had the underleggings and another weird shift and I wore a leather skirt and a leather breastplate on top of that. At one point, I had a metal breastplate and a sword and a massive centurion hat. It was pretty killer.
Denis, you already have a Tony, and I would fall over shocked if you weren't nominated for a guest actor Emmy on True Blood.
Oh dear.
Is it starting to give you aspirations of going for the EGOT?
You know, I try to be modest and I try to stay humble. While I would seriously love that, I'm going to leave that to other people and continue to do my work. [Laughs]
[Lead Photo Credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Images]