A.Perillo:Celebuzz.com

You grew up in a very theatrical family: two out of four of your siblings are also actors. What was it like growing up, do you all know you wanted to act from a young age?

 I didn’t know that I wanted to act as a profession until my junior year of high school. I began doing theater as a young child and I was inspired by my older siblings because I would watch them at a very young age in theaters, and they kind of inspired me creatively. So, I tried it out and it was really fun! I was really just doing it for fun, I mean it’s still fun, so I chose that path because my motto is that I wanted to make money and have fun at the same time.

Were you a fan of True Blood before you got the part?

Yeah, I was a huge fan! I’ve watched every single episode religiously, so it was actually really surreal being on set and being in that whole fantasy world that I was obsessed with for the last few years.

Being such a big fan, what was it like auditioning for the role of Blackburn?

It was cool because I kind of had already done my research, just from watching the show. There is a certain sick sense of humor that the show has, I would say that was what I utilized the most in my audition, because my character does kind of have a bloodthirsty attitude. I just want to get bloody at the drop of a hat.

What can we expect from your character and from True Blood this season?

Well, what I can tell you: I get brought in to Bon [Temps] on a special request. I get sent for. 

The vampire trend has been huge in the last couple of years ­– what do you think sets True Blood apart from the other shows and films about vampires?

Well its on HBO so you can kind of do a lot more with the grittiness and the gore, which I think is important for a vampire show. I mean, no offense to like, Vampire Diaries, or any of those shows, but its kind of child’s play compared to True Blood.

Did you watch any of those other shows?

I’m only a fan of True Blood when it comes to vampire shows. I’ve seen those other shows, yeah, I gave them a chance but they’re kind of…they’re kind of silly [laughs].

You mentioned that you’re allowed to do a lot more with HBO, and you’re also working on a new show Luck on HBO as well – what do you think it is about HBO that makes it so successful as a network?

They hire brilliant creators, like Allen Ball, David Milch and Michael Mann. They just use quality. They don’t treat their TV series as TV series, they treat them as mini-series, well, features really. Well, with Luck and True Blood, my experience was that they shoot like it’s a film, they don’t shoot like it’s a TV show, and they treat it as such.

What was it like working on set with the likes of Alexander Skarsgård and Stephen Moyer?

Yeah, it was great! I had a really great time. Stephen was the person who I worked with the most and he is hilarious, he’s a really funny guy. He just brings a lightheartedness to the set, which is really, really nice. Sometimes I’ve been on TV sets and its just way too serious and people get a little tensed up. But he is cracking jokes and just being funny and making things really nice. Alexander Skarsgård is a really, really nice person, he is probably the most humble actor I have ever met. He is just a really kind, kind soul.

Aside from True Blood, what can we look forward to seeing you in next?

I have a couple movies coming out at the end of the year. I have a small role in a movie called In Time, I worked with Justin Timberlake in that. That should be a really fun movie, it’s a sci-fi thriller. I have a dark comedy coming out at the end of the year, its called Sassy Pants [laughs], it’s a funny title. I worked with Hayley Joel Osmond, Diedrich Bader, and Ashley Rickards in that. That’s a dark comedy set in a small-town trailer park.