Sam Trammell : Popwrap

"True Blood" week is in full swing here at PopWrap. Yesterday we brought you a first hand account of the full body transformation Joe Manganiello underwent to play werewolf Alcide and today we're cozying up to another critter, on-screen shapeshifter Sam Trammell.

After the events of last year's finale which left Sam Merlotte half dead, Bon Temps only bar proprietor set off to find his birth parents. That quest that is fully realized -- for better or worse -- in Sunday's third season premiere. An episode that opens up a whole new world the moment Sam opens his motel door.

And that's just one of the shocks in store for fans as "True Blood" kicks off a brand new year that Sam has no qualms calling "our best season yet!"

PopWrap: When we spoke at the end of season two, you hoped this season would follow Sam on the journey to meet his parents. Has it lived up to your expectations? 
Sam Trammell: Oh yea. I mean it’s really deep and it’s fraught with twists and surprises. There are some majorly cool things that happen you will never see coming. They’re really twisted people.

 

PW: Why do you think it took Sam so long to seek them out? 
Sam: I think Sam has been scared to find his parents. First because they gave him up and he doesn’t know why. Also, Sam does have a bit of a dark side that emerges later this season and he starts to wonder where that came from. If his parents are the origin of that. Then there was also the warning my adopted parents give him, that they were not good people. There’s part of Sam that expects them to be a rough crew, but he couldn’t have imagined what he was getting into.

 

PW: Sam also learns that he's got a younger brother named Tommy -- will Sam begin to question why they kept Tommy and not him? 
Sam: Oh yea. Absolutely. There’s that as well. Why did they keep Tommy and not Sam? There are so many different kinds of emotion that come up in this situation. For Tommy too, I think he feels betrayed by his parents for not being told he has a brother. That’s a different kind of betrayal than Sam might feel. He literally has been lied to his whole life, it’s a pretty major deal for him.

 

PW: Before we get to that darker Sam you mentioned earlier, what's his journey in the first few episodes? 
Sam: I think a lot of Sam’s energy was spent on other people – worrying about Sookie, taking care of the bar, taking care of the town and feeling like Maryann was his responsibility. This year is sort of about me dealing with me and trying to find out who I am, with visiting my family and my own self discovery. It turns into a different kind of thing, I don’t want to spoil anything – but this season is very, very heavy for Sam.

 

PW: Really? Because I don't feel like either the first or second season was really a romp in the park for him. 
Sam: [laughs] No, oh man. Especially the end of season two with Maryann – taking a sword to his heart and barely being revived. That was off the hook..

 

PW: And we see the ramifications of Sam drinking Bill's blood in the first episode's most unexpected scene. 
Sam: Yes. Yes [laughs] How’d you like that? We’re really establishing the rules of our world and making interesting choices with those rules. Vampire blood gives you a connection – a sexual one, an emotional one – to the vampire that gave that to you. So now I am connected to Bill in a intense way for the whole season. I don’t want to promise too much, but each season that we’ve shot only covers like two weeks, so his blood is still very strong in me.

 

PW: Is it safe to say Sam feels a strong pull towards Bill all year long? 
Sam: Yes, absolutely. I have a new relationship with Bill now. Not only because of what we went through together – because it is a bonding experience – but I also have him in me, so there is definitely a new relationship I have with him.

 

PW: Turning back to Sam's parents for a minute, will he come to regret seeking them out? 
Sam: Oh yea! That’s an easy one, yes. The Mickens are a Pandora’s Box that Sam thinks he can open up. Sam thinks he can meet them, get what he wants from them and then say goodbye. But it does not work like that. They are in my life now. Dealing with his family is a major thing for Sam this whole year. They have their own agendas, their own secrets and it’s pretty unbelievable what gets revealed. I think The Mickens generate some of the biggest surprises in the whole year for any of the characters – it’s pretty major.

 

PW: It seems that any time Sam lets someone in -- Maryann, Daphne -- it turns into a literal hell on earth. 
Sam: Yea, I know – he still hasn’t learned and you hit the nail right on the head there. It is bad – they’re bad news. I have kind of a big journey this year and it drives Sam to some places you haven’t seen yet. We also get some flashbacks to his life before Bon Temps, which is really fun. Their presence drives me to extremes.

 

PW: Seeing as you guys are currently filming the season finale, how would you saw year three stacks up to the first two? 
Sam: It’s right up there with last season – which was huge in terms of locations and numbers of actors and action. The great thing about season three is that we do top a lot of the stuff from season two. But what’s really great this year is that we really dig into every character.

 

PW: Like what you were saying with Sam's flashbacks? 
Sam: Yes. The writers have gone back and delved deeper into developing each and every character. I’m really excited because I’m sure this is our best season yet and to have your third season be the best is definitely a testament to the cast and crew. It’s so easy to make a bad movie or bad TV show and I just feel like we’re in good groove right now. It’s relentlessly exciting, the writing is beautiful and we really deliver an insane ride.