Deborah Ann Woll Finds Missing Link Between Snakes and Vampires

Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica) takes a surprisingly scholarly approach to preparing for her role as a True Blood vamp.

“I got very interested in the science behind this creature,” she told the New York Times. “This vampire. I knew they were basing the teeth off of reptiles, namely snakes, instead of canines as they have been portrayed previously. That gave me an idea and I started to research reptiles. I don’t think our vampires are truly cold. I think we are cold-blooded like snakes. We are the temperature of our surroundings and can be warmed by contact with warm objects. A hot rock, warm water, a warm-blooded body. Doesn’t that make a human lover seem extra enticing! We simply feel cool to the touch because humans are 98.6 degrees and we would be less."

"I also think we breathe, in order to talk and feel, but we don’t need oxygen so we would not be out of breath from exercise," she continues. "In my research of snakes I even saw an answer for eternal youth. They shed their skins and therefore appear almost ageless their whole lives. I think vampires could do the same thing more subtly. Its fun for me to see what all this inspires in me for the character.”

We hope she doesn’t share her research with Alan Ball. We’re sure he’d love to write a skin-shedding scene.

Deborah says we can’t expect to see Jess come to terms with her vampiritude any time soon — this season she’ll go through "more turmoil between her human and her vampire side. Her dark and her light and what that means for her relationships. With her maker, with her lover, with her friends…”

Maybe she just needs a nice terrarium and some white mice.

Source: New York Times

Want more Deborah? Check out 10 Things You Need to Know About Deborah Ann Woll!