Although her candy-color coated outside is incredibly delicious, Kristin Bauer van Straten promises that the fourth season of “True Blood” will strip away Pam’s shell and show the world just what she’s made of.
Part of that will present itself early in the season as Eric loses his memory, forcing Pam to step up at Fangtasia and within the vampire hierarchy. But her mettle will truly be tested later this season as …. well, I don’t know. This is “True Blood” after all and spoilers are avoided by the cast like the plague.
What I can tell you is that Kristin reveals this season will show every character in such a drastically different light, you may be swapping favorites and crushes faster than Sookie Stackhouse!
PopWrap: What excited you coming into season four?
Kristin Bauer van Straten: I found out fairly early on that Pam is getting her own crazy storyline this season, which ramps up in the middle of the season. That was very exciting for me because I knew that it would show everyone a different side of Pam, which is a bit of a challenge for me, but also so great.
PW: How have you enjoyed fleshing her out?
Kristin: It’s been incredibly fun. I see the script and think, “oh my god, I’m so excited to see this side of her.” It feels like we go deeper into the characters, which is why I love the PR campaign – Show Your True Colors – because it’s what this season does. Everyone is pushed further so we see another side, but also their real core. To be looking at Pam’s core on the page is so exciting … but the next thought is, “I hope I do it justice” because it’s such great writing. Filming this year was extra challenging and watching it has been nerve-wracking. Just wondering “did my hope end up on screen?” So far, thankfully, it has matched up with the image in my head.
PW: Trailers have revealed that the Eric amnesia storyline you’ve been pushing for since season one finally comes into play. You must have been thrilled!
Kristin: You can’t even imagine. And to see that the show is bold enough to go there is fun. We found out last season that this would happen and Pam would take over, so I’ve had all hiatus to wait for these scripts. I feel like a fan after the finale every year, just waiting to see what’s next, but this particular wait was the hardest. I think it’s been fun for Alex [Skarsgard] and my fellow vampire world actors because seeing this other side of Eric is something completely different that brings out totally new roles for everyone.
PW: I get the sense that this season will show us totally new sides and roles for almost all the characters, fair?
Kristin: That’s exactly what it feels like to me too. Nothing was predictable. It’s really amazing, again, what these guys have done. The movies and TV shows I like to watch tend to put their characters in situations where they have to dig deeper. It’s not just antics for no reason. This year, every single character gets down to their core and shows their true colors.
PW: For fans, Pam’s core has always been well-represented in her attire. How are the ensembles this year?
Kristin: So ridiculous [laughs]. I just look at Audrey Fisher [costume designer] and think, “my god, woman!” I’d had a long night of shooting towards the middle of this season and I got emotional thinking, “I just love Pam.” And I’ll tell you what triggered it for me. No matter how dire things get – and I mean, they get real dire this year – she still dresses for the occasion. In modern life we throw on sweats to go to Starbucks. The world is ending and Pam stops to think, “What is the perfect world ending outfit.”
PW: And inevitably it involves a PVC bustier!
Kristin: [laughs] Totally! Every year there’s a bustier! They’re rarely comfortable, but when I’m in pain, I know we’re in the ballpark.
PW: Well, that’s probably because Pam can’t feel it.
Kristin: That’s right, Pam can’t feel it … but Kristin can [laughs]. It’s worth it though!
PW: Some paparazzi pictures of a machine gun-clad Pam hit the internet last week — this would hint that the end of season four enters some fairly unprecedented territory.
Kristin: Yea. We took five nights to shoot that scene, which is incredible support from HBO. And because it’s such a big scene, where so much happens and involves so many people, I think unprecedented is the right word. Without giving anything away, there is so much at stake with that scene. We’ve got a lot of people sucked into that dilemma, it’s quite something.
PW: I imagine it has something to do with the various wars that are constantly brewing between the different species. If you had to pick one — vampire, werewolf, witch, human or shifter — which group would you say is the most dangerous this year?
Kristin: This year the witches are pretty dangerous. If you can weave magic and have malintent, you can do some damage. Watch, next year, I’ll say they were nothing compared to … the aliens or something [laughs]. I don’t even know what could be next. But what’s great about the way they’ve written the witches in this season is that what they do creates pretty interesting dilemmas for the vampires. It’s not a typical arm wrestle. It’s pretty creative how they have to combat one another.
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“True Blood” premieres June 26 at 9pm on HBO
Photo: HBO