Lauren Bowles talks 'True Blood' character: 'We both have a lot of faith and spirituality'

Lauren Bowles says she and her character on the risqué HBO vampire series "True Blood" have some things in common.
Bowles, 41, plays Holly Cleary, a witch, or as she prefers to call it, a "Wiccan." The character is also a waitress and single mother who catches the eye of the local sheriff. Cleary was introduced on the show last year and on the current fourth season, befriends the seemingly evil leader Marnie, who wages war against the vampires.

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Meet 'True Blood's' Rising Witch, Lauren Bowles

With HBO's True Blood mastermind Alan Ball having announced that next season will be "the season of the witch" on the ultra-hot hit, no wonder Lauren Bowles is calling her casting as witch Holly on the series "completely surreal. I watched the show from the beginning, so I couldn't have been more psyched about becoming a part of this world. It didn't seem within the realm of possibility. I'm pinching myself."

Bowles' recently introduced waitress character -- a "down-by-the-bayou single mom" in addition to being a witch -- is becoming more prominent as the show speeds toward its Sept. 12 season finale. Her appearance now is said to be setting her up for next season.

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Bowles unsure about 'True Blood' romance

Lauren Bowles has admitted that she doesn't know whether she will have a romantic storyline on True Blood.

Bowles's character Holly, who has joined the show for the third season, has a relationship with Hoyt in Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries novels.

However, in the television series Hoyt (Jim Parrack) and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) have a connection.

Speaking to Movieweb, Bowles admitted that a relationship between Holly and Hoyt is "possible".

"That's what is so crazy," she said. "I am guessing. But Hoyt and Jess? People love them together. [Executive producer] Alan [Ball] might stick to the book and bring us together. Or I could also see him veering."

She continued: "These two, Jess and Hoyt? They are working so well together. Everyone loves it. I don't want to break them up. If we do, we break them up for just a little bit, and then we get them back together. I don't know. I personally love seeing them together."

However, Bowles added that she would be happy to have a romantic storyline, saying: "I love my Hoyt. I wouldn't mind being matched with him."

True Blood continues on Sundays at 9pm on HBO

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EXCLUSIVE: True Blood's Lauren Bowles Talks Holly Clearly and Season 3 Finale

True Blood has become a phenomenon over the course of three seasons on HBO. The show only has two more episodes left before season three comes to its shocking conclusion on September 12th with Episode 3.12: Evil is Going On. But before that happens, there's quite a bit more story to tell. Much of which centers around new cast addition Lauren Bowles, who plays Holly Clearly, a single mother and burgeoning Wiccan that has recently joined the wait staff at Merlotte's.

Though important to the ongoing storyline that will take us through the season ending climax and into season four, Lauren is contractually shackled and committed to silence on the subject matter of all things True Blood. She can't tell us too much about Holly Clearly and her intentions. But we did get her to reflect on Holly's known relationship with Hoyt Fortenberry (Jim Parrack), where her friendship with Arlene Fowler (Carrie Preston) might be headed, and what exactly is happening with season four and its recently announced villain Hallow Stonebrook.

Here is our conversation:

You can't throw a stick in Los Angeles without hitting a waitress that is a practicing Wiccan. Were you aware that there were so many in the area, waiting tables?

Lauren Bowles: I had no clue. I didn't realize it was tied to that profession. However, I do know that Wicca is tied to a bunch of funky new religions that are popping up. I know there is much interest in the Wiccan world. My guess is that there are lots of hostesses, and lots of trainers practicing it.

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True Blood Spoiler : Holly Cleary , witches and the Jesus connection !!!

* We meet Holly first at the beginning of bk 2 right when Lafayette's body is discovered in Andy's car in Merlotte's parking lot.

** I would note that Holly's grandmother once lived in the Renard Parish Nursing Home !!!  This ties her to the TB character we now know as Jesus ( who is Lafayette's Mom's nurse in the nursing home) - so we can assume that they know each other and confirms that he may also be a witch.
*** I wonder if Summer might be the Dainielle character and be HS friends with Holly and Hoyt ?

Living Dead in Dallas

Danielle Gray and Holly Cleary, the two waitresses on the morning shift, came through the back door laughing. Both divorced women in their mid-twenties, Danielle and Holly were lifelong friends who seemed to be quite happy working their jobs as long as they were together. Holly had a five-year-old son who was at kindergarten, and Danielle had a seven-year-old daughter and a boy too young for school,who stayed with Danielle's mother while Danielle was at Merlotte's. I would never be any closer to the two women—who, after all, were around my age—because they were careful to be sufficient unto themselves.

Holly had short blond hair that hung around her face like wilted daisy petals, and the prettiest skin I'd ever seen. "

"Andy let a black queer sleep in his car?" This was Holly, who was the blunt straightforward one.

Then on to book 4 when Jason has disappeared,  it's Tara who helps Sookie find a witch and her first visit with and discussion with Holly "Dead to the World" pg 50

You don't know any witches, do you?" I asked, trying to change the subject before
Tara could read my misgivings."Holly can explain it better than I can," Tara said.
"Holly. The Holly who works with me?"

Holly Cleary lived. I thought I remembered her complaining about the closet size in her apartment, and that meant the Kingfisher Arms.
When I got to the U-shaped building on the southern approach to Bon Temps, I checked the mailboxes to discover Holly's apartment number. She was on the ground floor, in number 4. Holly had a five-year-old son, Cody. Holly and her best friend, Danielle Gray, had both gotten married right out of high school, and both had been divorced within five years. Danielle's mom was a great help to Danielle, but Holly was not so lucky. Her long-divorced parents had both moved away, and her grandmother had died in the Alzheimer's wing of the Renard Parish nursing home. Holly had dated Detective Andy Bellefleur for a few months, but nothing had come of it. Rumor had it that old Caroline Bellefleur, Andy's grandmother, had thought Holly wasn't "good" enough for Andy. I had no opinion on that.
Neither Holly nor Andy was on my shortlist of favorite people, though I definitely felt cooler toward Andy. When Holly answered her door, I realized all of a sudden how much she'd changed over the past few weeks. For years, her hair had been dyed a dandelion yellow. Now it was matte black and spiked. Her ears had four piercings apiece. And I noticed her hipbones pushing at the thin denim of her aged jeans

"You're a witch?" I said, embarrassed at using such a dramatic word.
"I'm more of a Wiccan."
"Would you mind explaining the difference?" I met her eyes briefly, and then decided to focus on the dried flowers in the basket on top of the television. Holly thought I could read her mind only if I was looking into her eyes. (Like physical touching, eye contact does make the reading easier, but it certainly isn't necessary.)
"You draw from a power that most people never tap into. Being a witch isn't being wicked, or at least it isn't supposed to be. If you're a Wiccan, you follow a religion, a pagan religion. We follow the ways of the Mother, and we have our own calendar of holy days. You can be both a Wiccan and a witch; or more one, or more the other. It's very individualized. I practice a little witchcraft, but I'm more interested in the Wiccan life. We believe that your actions are okay if you don't hurt anyone else."
Oddly, my first feeling was one of embarrassment, when I heard Holly tell me that she was a
non-Christian. I'd never met anyone who didn't at least pretend to be a Christian or who didn't give lip service to the basic Christian precepts. I was pretty sure there was a synagogue in Shreveport, but I'd never even met a Jew, to the best of my knowledge. I was certainly on a learning curve.
"I understand. Do you know lots of witches?"
"I know a few." Holly nodded repeatedly, still avoiding my eyes.
I spotted an old computer on the rickety table in the corner. "Do you have, like, a chat room online, or a bulletin board, or something?" "Oh, sure."

So let's look at what we learn from TB Sunday night and examine more about Holly later.

Fresh 'Blood' Meet the new addition to Merlotte's main menu

Lauren Bowles would love to talk about her debut tomorrow night on "True Blood."
But she can't -- at least not in detail. HBO is that serious about clamping down on its hottest show since "The Sopranos."
"It's no joke. For the first time [in my career] I signed a confidentiality agreement," Bowles says. "I can't even confirm I have the job."
Bowles, the half-sister of "Seinfeld" and "Old Christine" star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, can say that she plays Holly Cleary, the new waitress at Merlotte's, the bar & grill which employs series protagonist Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) on the supernaturally flavored series (in which vampires and humans mix freely in the Louisiana town of Bon Temps).

Lauren Bowles  makes her "True Blood" debut tomorrow night as waitress Holly Cleary. sharing a laugh with her half-sister, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Holly, a single mother of two, befriends fellow waitress Arlene (Carrie Preston) and "has some interesting abilities that will develop as the show goes on," Bowles says coyly. "She's sort of warm-hearted but very grounded."
Holly will appear in this season's final four episodes (the season finale airs Sept. 12) -- and will return for "True Blood's" fourth season, which begins filming later this fall.

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