Denis O’Hare, the King of Mississippi is getting a lot of media attention since he debuted in True Blood episode 2 last night. The more I read what Denis has to say about his character, the more I know this dude is really going to bring it this year. Also, not only is he the oldest vampire we’ve met so far, but he is by far the most powerful as he possesses super-vampire strength! Minor spoilers in here.
TVGuide.com: Had you read the books or seen the show before signing on?
Denis O’Hare: I was definitely a fan [of the show]. I hadn’t read the books; I’ve read them since and enjoyed them very much. I was a fan of Six Feet Under and was very sad when it ended, so I was not ready to switch my allegiance to another show. So I was like, “I’m not watching this True Blood.” Then a friend got a bootleg copy of the first four episodes and by the third one, I was irrevocably hooked. When we finished the fourth one, I was running to the phone and calling [the cable company], begging them to give me HBO On Demand so I could watch the rest of the season immediately.
TVGuide.com: What did Alan Ball tell you about Russell going in?
O’Hare: He said he has a Southern accent, and is very charming, very powerful and very deadly.
TVGuide.com: Tell me about the King of Mississippi.
O’Hare: Russell is the oldest vampire we’ve yet to meet, and is therefore the most powerful. His physical power is kind of staggering. At one point, a vampire attacks him and Russell twitches his shoulder and the vampire flies off him and hits the ceiling. He is beyond morality, an ancient Celt, 2,800 years old, a pagan. Certainly he’s assimilated and evolved, but at heart he’s a pagan druid creature, an earth-worshipper who’s incredibly concerned with nature. Eventually, we’ll hear his vision for the world, which is that humans need to step aside and let vampires rule because humans are squandering the earth and ruining their habitat.
TVGuide.com: What kind of relationship does Russell have with Talbot?
O’Hare: It’s kind of a tragic relationship. They’re people who deeply love each other, but they’re caught in a cycle of bickering and fighting. Like any marriage, the things you are trying to do might pull you away from each other, and the things start to collide or drift away from each other. He just wants Talbot to be happy, and it gives him sleepless days that Talbot is not happy.
TVGuide.com: Why isn’t Talbot happy?
O’Hare: I think it’s in his nature. I think what attracted Russell to Talbot is that he’s mercurial and moody. Theo [Alexander], who plays him, is Greek, very Greek. He can be very dark very suddenly. The things that attract you in people can be maddening later.
TVGuide.com: What does the King want with Bill?
O’Hare: It’s so complicated. When we shoot, we sit down and say, “What do I know?” All Russell knows now is that the Queen wants Sookie; Russell wants to find out why. His eventual goal is to take over every state and become the first vampire president of the United States, and his first target is Louisiana. Russell wants to use Bill as a spy to gain insight into Sophie-Anne so he can blackmail her into marrying him. Along the way, he realizes that Sookie is actually the prize, and then he becomes obsessed with her.
TVGuide.com: Should we trust the King?
O’Hare: Who can you trust? The alliances are so fast and furious. I’ve been betrayed by Bill and Eric at least a couple of times by this point.
TVGuide.com: How is he different from the Queen of Louisiana?
O’Hare: Russell is good with money. Sophie-Anne is childish; she doesn’t know how to wield her power. Russell knows exactly how to wield his power. Sophie-Anne is cruel is a sort of off-handed way; Russell is cruel is an incredibly calculated way. They’re both violent and autocratic, but Sophie-Anne is erratic. There’s nothing erratic about Russell.
TVGuide.com: What’s his relationship with the werewolves?
O’Hare: They work for him. He keeps them addicted to his blood, and they become addicts. He’s done this for 1,000 or more years. Two things: You don’t have to demand their loyalty; you have it. They’re addicted to your blood. It’s like mind control. The second thing is that you have a daylight set of eyes. These guys are able to be awake during the day.
Russell loves the werewolves. To him, it goes back to something very ancient. In the ancient druid culture, there are two animals that are twinned: the raven and the wolf. Russell’s real name is a word for “raven” in an ancient Celtic tongue.
Yikes! Wanting Sookie is not going to sit well with Bill, Eric…and a whole bunch of “others”. Neither is being “king” of the wolf pack…or wanting to take over the world, LOL!
Oh, I am loving all of this, as S3 is tying ever more into my particular interests.
Normally I rarely, if ever, post in the Comments section; but lately there is FAR too much of interest to ignore. O’Hare is absolutely right about the historic Celtic relationship between the raven and the wolf. Ancient Nordic culture also has these two as complexly intertwined as tangled vines… as do several Native American cultures. This is all based upon the very real, natural world where ravens and wolves often exhibit a uniquely symbiotic relationship similar to that of the African Ratel and the Honeyguide Bird.
Odin had his two Ravens Huginn and Muninn (in old Norse, the names roughly translate as ‘Thought’ and ‘Memory’) who flew all over Midgard collecting information for him and usually returned every evening around dinnertime. They normally are depicted seated one upon each shoulder, and Odin is often referred to as ‘The Raven King’ or ‘The Raven God’ in their honour. Seated at Odin’s feet are his two wolves, Geri und Freki.
I am not a fan of Wikipedia as a reputable research source; however, this is a well-known plate published in 1882 depicting Odin with his animal retinue (below):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Odin,_der_Göttervater.jpg
O’Hare has done his homework. I salute you, Sir.
WOW! he knows his character! and the storyline :D