On the first two seasons of HBO’s True Blood, Kristin Bauer showed up sparingly as Pam, the side kick to vampire mayor Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and co-owner of Fangtasia. Her devil-may-care attitude, witty quips and killer fashion sense had fans hoping they’d get to see more of her amongst the Sookie and Bill, Sam and Tara and other intense storylines.
Last year, it was announced that Kristin would become a series regular on the show, and Truebies rejoiced, as Pam is a huge part of the books the show is based on, and it also happens Pam becomes omnisexual, if not fully lesbian, around age 200.
Though her love of women was hinted at with flirty comments and sly gestures, season 3 will have Pam doing more than just playing around – she’ll actually have a relationship with a woman. Kristin Bauer took some time to call us and give us a few hints at what we have in store from Pam, lesbian vampire Queen Sophie-Ann (played by Evan Rachel Wood) and the rest of the gang on the super gay True Blood when it returns in June.
AfterEllen.com: It seems like Pam is going to be a much bigger part of this new season; how did that come to be?
Kristin Bauer: Well, you know, I’ve wondered that and they never tell you. I would hear from the producers here and there, you know, “Pam is a fan favorite; the fans love Pam,” and I would go, “OK, good!”
I was a little nervous to kind of look online or see what people were saying about me and Pam. Then my husband and I were reading the books – he got kind of ahead and he said, “You know, Pam’s not really in it much until book four, and then she gets really big. So, this is Season 3 and I thought “OK, maybe next year,” and then they called and said “No, we wanna do it this year.” So it was really a mystery and also good, a huge Christmas gift.
AE: Is there going to be a lot of stuff going on in Fangtasia this year, like there was in the mini-episode where you and Eric were auditioning new dancers?
KB: Yes, there is – there’s a lot in Fangtasia. There’s an incredible amount for Pam there.
AE: Is Pam going to be having any sort of relationships this year?
KB: She does! I’m always wondering, you know – I try to keep track of what [creator] Alan [Ball] reveals so I don’t reveal too much, but she is definitely bisexual, if not further along in that decision-making process. So, we get to find out a little more about her sexuality this year.
AE: Is it with another vampire? Can you tell us anything about it?
KB: I can’t tell you too much about it! Someone else asked me about it, like, is it a relationship? And you know, I don’t think Pam gets into – I think her only real relationship in her life is [her maker] Eric. Everything else is an amusement and entertainment.
AE: I love that Pam is bisexual or omnisexual, but that she’s also got great fashion. So many times, people like to assume that lesbians or gay women have really poor fashions, so I love that she’s so into shoes.
KB: [Laughs] I didn’t know that! That’s so funny. Pam is definitely going to be a gay woman with a sense of style.
AE: Is it fair to say you have a lot more screen time this season?
KB: I do.
AE: I know you probably can’t give away too much, but are most of the scenes that you do with Eric? Because Pam is always with Eric and they’re always getting into their things together –
KB: Yeah! They get into more shenanigans this year and more trouble. Also, what’s fun about the circumstances they’re under is that we get to see the depth of their relationship, you know, kind of a la Eric and Godrick’s relationship. So yeah, it’s really fun because we’re just peeling the onion a little more and I get to learn – and the audience gets to learn – about who this lady is beyond her sarcasm. But it’s always going to be there and it’s so much fun.
AE: So do you speak Swedish in real life, or is that something you had to adapt for the parts where you and Eric are speaking that?
KB: Yeah, that was something I had to do for the part and it’s nerve-wracking, but it’s really fun. I just have to memorize consecutive sounds, so for me it’s just gibberish. I have no idea what I’m saying! I’m just trusting that Alex isn’t messing with me. That’s where I get it! They write it in English and I call Alex in a panic and he records it for me. And he’s all day long on set, you know, the poor guy has a whole scene to shoot and all day long, after every take, I don’t look at the director, I look at him and go “Yes? No?”
AE: Were you still on set or shooting when Anna Paquin came out as bisexual in that PSA that broke the internet for a little bit because it was so popular?
KB: I was around, but I didn’t hear about it on the set. Someone else, not related to the show, told me. You know, I know Anna a bit so I wasn’t surprised. I kinda didn’t see what the reaction was online.
AE: It was for a PSA, so the site itself that had the PSA went down because it was so popular, because people were so intereted in seeing her talk about it.
KB: Oh wow, that’s good. That’s great that she brought attention to it.
AE: The show itself is so gay-friendly, and you can see all the parallels to any civil rights movement with the vampires fighting for equal rights. Do you think that that’s something that the writers play up, or is it something that’s inherently part of the story that Charlaine Harris originally wrote?
KB: Well, I’m not far along in the books, so I’m not sure how much, but – is Pam gay in the books?
AE: Well, from what I’ve read, it seems that when she was human, she had a boyfriend, but then later when she became a vampire she discovered that she was more into women. So, I guess she’s bisexual but she largely dates women when she’s a vampire later on.
KB: OK, interesting. I suspect that it’s all just synchronicity. It’s gotta be a part of the books because Alan Ball is so attracted to -he saw that he could go even deeper with the theme of, you know, basically humanity, I feel. And he’s expanded upon it as well because of his reality and his life and what he looks at.
I just love – you know, I have no considerations about peoples’ sexuality or peoples’ color or peoples’ country of origin. So, to me, I’m always interested when it’s a little bit of a thing, and then I realize, oh yeah right, I’m from the midwest, I’ve lived in different parts of the country, and I just think it’s so wonderful.
I just wish these things could eventually become a non-issue. It seems like with this show it helps that a little bit because it’s so entertaining, it’s so colorful and so exciting. These themes don’t seem to be at the forefront because it’s so entertaining, but it’s there, which I really love.
You know, I’ve been online and working on my animal rights things and I was looking at the revolt in Taiwan with the red shirts, I guess they’re called, and I think, God, there’s so much going on – the oil spill – there’s so much serious, so many dire things going on, and I think, oh who cares who’s sleeping with who? Really? Honestly? This is what we’ve evolved to? We’re still worried about the top three layers of epidermis? I think maybe people need to get out more or travel more.
I love to be part of a show that doesn’t shy away from the whole rainbow – not to make a cliche – of life. The whole spectrum. You know, we’re gonna have to figure out how to live together, and we’re gonna have to figure out how to go, “OK, this is my thing, but if that’s your thing, cool. I’ve got my hands full over here with my life, I don’t need to worry about your life.”
AE: That’s what’s great about True Blood – outside of just gay and straight you have to worry about who’s a shape-shifter, who’s a vampire – there are so many other things.
KB: Isn’t it great? I think it’s such a metaphor for life. We’ve got so many different types of people. The more and more people we have, the more we’re living on top of each other so you have to tolerate differences. I love that that’s what this show is about.
AE: I think that’s why so many people like it. Evan Rachel Wood played the only other gay woman character, Queen Sophie-Ann, that was on last season – is she going to be involved in this season at all?
KB: I wonder if they’ll get mad at me for saying, but yeah, she’s around.
AE: I haven’t checked around, but that may be common knowledge.
KB: Everyone knows more than I do! When I go on Facebook, I see “Oh yeah, there are werewolves this year!”, you know? I find out everything through the fans. So yeah, she’s around.
AE: The fan base on the internet seems so crazy. Have you been to any of the events? Any of the comic cons or anything to meet anyone directly?
KB: I did one. I did one this year just recently, and then I’m going to be doing Comic-Con and Dragon Con this year. It’s very interesting and fun to meet the fans.
AE: And now there’s going to be comic books and other things coming out for the show – it’s crazy.
KB: It’s absolutely crazy, because you know, on set I’m just hoping I sound Swedish and I’m hoping I look immortal. Then I’m outside of that world and I go on Facebook or something and wow! We just have no idea what’s happening out there- it’s such an intense petri dish, creating the show.
AE: Anything else about the season that you can tease us with?
KB: Every episode, every script that comes, becomes my favorite. Each one gets better and better. For me, better in the sense that I get to see another side of Pam. We’re really getting to know her this year. I can’t tell you what I’m shooting next week, but it is so awesome! It’s really kick-ass. And I promise you, the clothes will be as good as last year.
AE: And the shoes, I hope. It’s all about the shoes.
