Interview with TRUE BLOOD's Mariana Klaveno

Best known as the sexy, deliciously evil and emotionally complex Lorena in HBO's True Blood, Mariana Klaveno has delighted fans as the psycho-vamp who can't seem to get enough of Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). The talented actress also starred in the feature film While the Children Sleep (released as The Sitter on DVD). If you're a fan, you know that HBO has renewed True Blood for a 12-episode fourth season, slated to premiere in June 2011. And like most die hard fans, you're hoping she'll somehow return. In this revealing interview, Klaveno explains how she got her start, her thoughts about a role so many have come to love and admire, and the scenes people just can't stop talking bout.

So you literally lived on a Washington farm until you were 18. Did you dream of becoming an actress when you were young?
Mariana Klaveno:  For as long as I can remember, acting is something I always wanted to do. I don't really know where that impulse came from. I was kind of secretive about it until my junior year in high school. I thought it was such a wild, outlandish goal to have.


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Bill and Lorena’s Undying Love

Ep. 31: Postmortem - An Undying Love

Klaveno makes bad look good as evil Lorena on 'True Blood'

Wow, what a, um, witch.

Well, in this case, a vampire, actually.

True Blood actress Mariana Klaveno plays one of the most despicable characters on television as the centuries-old Lorena, who has a thing for her undead progeny and some serious jealousy issues.

"She's not the most likable character," Klaveno concedes. But, "I'm not as evil as Lorena. I know some people have a hard time making that distinction between myself and the character. I get recognized everywhere I go, so I think that just is a testament to how popular the show is. But luckily, nobody has booed or hissed or come at me with a stake. Everyone has been very lovely and warm and excited to talk with somebody from the show." 

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True Blood's Mariana Klaveno on That Sex Scene and How J.J. Abrams Made it Possible

There wasn’t a new episode of True Blood last Sunday, but then again, you probably needed that downtime to decompress from the previous episode’s insane final scene. On a show that commingles sex and violence as a general rule, that last encounter between Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Lorena (Mariana Klaveno) may have shredded the envelope: testing the limits of vampire-on-vampire hate-sex, Bill twisted Lorena’s head completely around between thrusts — and true to Lorena’s malevolent nature, she loved it.
Did Klaveno feel the same way about having to shoot it, though? With True Blood resuming its run this weekend, she called up Movieline to discuss exactly how they made it work, why Lorena just can’t get over Bill, and how J.J. Abrams is inadvertently responsible.
So you had a very, shall we say, “head-turning” scene in episode three?
You could say that. You could say “twisted.”
I’m sure you’re going to hear all of those jokes.
We were making them on the day of filming, trust me.

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Mariana Klaveno sinks her teeth into "True Blood"

LOS ANGELES (Back Stage) - The white-hot HBO series "True Blood" has exploded into the pop-culture arena over the past two years, fueling the international vampire obsession.

But unlike its "Twilight" counterpart, "True Blood" isn't afraid to show the sizzlingly sexy and graphically violent, placing it at the decidedly grown-up end of the blood-sucking spectrum.

Since the beginning of the series, actor Mariana Klaveno has been in some of the grisliest and steamiest scenes of them all -- as Lorena, the vampire who turned Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) into Vampire Bill during the Civil War and who continues to fight with Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) for his love. The role has required Klaveno, whose brooding, feline beauty seems to effortlessly morph from charming to cruel in a flash, to flesh out a character who relishes in the bloodsport of being a vampire, unlike Bill. And though she's a true villain in the fictional Southern setting of Bon Temps, La., Lorena is driven by an unrequited love, making her unexpectedly relatable.

As the series returns for its third season, Klaveno talked to Back Stage about the freedom of embodying a supernatural being, avoiding the urge to Google herself, and why she held onto her restaurant job through the second season.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERIVEW: Mariana Klaveno (Lorena) from True Blood

Waiting sucks. But on Sunday, the wait for season 3 of True Blood is over. I have seen the first three episodes and I can tell you they are fantastic. If you have read the books (or even if you haven’t) you know that Lorena (Bill’s maker, played by the lovely Mariana Kleveno) takes on a bigger role this season. There’s also werewolves and witches and more crazy action (and also some clothes-less Eric). Whatever the season brings, I am extremely excited for it. I recently had the chance to chat with Mariana Klaveno about Lorena’s complexities, how she’s able to relate to a vampire, and what makes Bill (and Stephen Moyer) so special.
What originally drew you to the project?
When I first read for it, it hadn’t started airing yet. So I all I knew was that it was Alan Ball’s new show, which that in and of itself was enough of a draw. I knew it was his new show, and that it was about vampires, and that it was set in the south. And that’s kind of all I knew, but I was such a fan of Six Feet Under, and I just love his creative genius, that I was drawn to it immediately just because I knew he was behind it.

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'True Blood' Star Stephen Moyer Is A 'Really Great Guy, Brilliant Actor,' Says Co-Star Mariana Klaveno

As the vicious vampire Lorena on HBO's "True Blood," actress Mariana Klaveno shares a good portion of her screen time with Stephen Moyer, better known to fans of the show as southern gentle-vamp Bill Compton.

Although Lorena and Bill have quite the tumultuous relationship with one another on the blood-soaked vampire series — unsurprising, given the fact that Lorena turned Bill into a vampire back during the Civil War era — the dynamic between Mariana and Stephen off-screen couldn't possibly be any more different.
more MTV

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'True Blood' EXCLUSIVE! Bill's Maker, Lorena, Is Back, There's 'More Turbulence Between Them'

Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) is missing, last seen in the clutches of a gloved abductor with a bad strip of silver. Although the kidnapper's identity has yet to be revealed to viewers of the "True Blood" television series, fans of Charlaine Harris' "Sookie Stackhouse" novels are already looking at one suspect in particular — none other than Bill's very own maker, Lorena.

But don't expect to hear any confirmation from Mariana Klaveno, the talented actress who plays Lorena on the hit HBO series. All she'll say is that the naughty Lorena is indeed returning for the third season of "True Blood," set to premiere in June.

Hollywood Crush spoke with Mariana and learned a great deal about her character's future. Read all of the gory details after the jump!

While Mariana wouldn't say whether or not Lorena is involved in the kidnapping of Vampire Bill, she did confess that she'll have plenty of screen time with Stephen Moyer this season.

"Yes, we do spend a good deal of time together in season three," she told us. "I'm hoping that the fans will be a little bit surprised by it, because there will be some new dynamics in our relationship that are new and [have to deal] with that cliffhanger."

But that doesn't necessarily mean she'll be responsible for Bill's abduction, as Mariana informed us: "I think you'll see some sides of Lorena that will surprise you. She'll be in certain situations where you think she'll do something, and she will not [do what you expect]."

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Mariana " Lorena" Klaveno Talks True Blood, Drops Season 3 Hints

The hit HBO vampire drama True Blood doesn’t return with new episodes until June 13th, but fans can rest assured that the filming of Season 3 is already well underway, and the upcoming season will feature a number of new faces, as well as expanded roles for some of the previous seasons’ familiar faces.

One such familiar face is Mariana Klaveno, who plays Lorena, the vampire responsible for turning Sookie Stackhouse’s (Anna Paquin) vampire boyfriend Bill (Stephen Moyer), during the Civil War. Although she can’t give anything away, the actress did reveal that viewers will get to see more sides to Lorena and they’ll be seeing Bill in a whole new light.

In this exclusive interview with IESB, Mariana Klaveno talked about how grateful she is to be working with such an amazing cast and crew, and how much fun it is to play such a wicked, but still very well-dressed, vampire.

IESB: How did you get into acting? Was it just something you had always wanted to do?

Mariana: It was something that I just always wanted to do, as a really small child. I can’t pinpoint any specific experience or inspiration that initiated it, but for as long as I can remember, I just always wanted to. It’s a little odd, considering where I come from. No one in my family is even remotely related to the entertainment industry, at all. But, I used to think up screenplays in my head, even as a 6-year-old, and I would go off on my own and play out little scenes. It seems sort of previous and silly now, but I really did.

IESB: How did you go from the dream to the reality?

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Again , No Bubba and more Lorena

Question: Do you know if True Blood’s third season will feature Bubba? He’s not exactly a major character in the books, but I still love him. —Kristal

Ausiello: Unfortunately, Alan Ball says he couldn’t figure out a way to introduce Bubba “without it being cheesy,” adding, “I don’t know how to do it without either using an Elvis impersonator, which is cheesy, or having somebody and never seeing their face, just hearing their voice — and to me that sounds equally cheesy. So that’s just one of the casualties of the transfer from book to screen.”

Question: Hello fellow Smurf lover! Any new scoop on the upcoming season of “True Blood”? —Candy

Ausiello: I’m 90 percent certain this is new: Mariana Klaveno is returning as Bill’s maker, Lorena, for roughly six episodes.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/03/17/ask-ausiello-spoilers-true-blood-lost/

Hey Reviewers : It is Lorena, Bill's maker played by Mariana Klaveno

News Alert: The lady we see walking down the hotel hallway in the end of Episode 5 is Lorena, Bill's maker played by Mariana Klaveno.

This is a HUGE cliffhanger. She is really, really bad ...and she will play a BIG part in True Blood Season 3 ( based on Club Dead )

Everything I have on Lorena here

Of course we saw her in epsiode 5 from Season 1 watch here

Mariana Klaveno ( Lorena) will be season regular next year on True Blood .

Mariana Klaveno has been upped to series regular on HBO’s “True Blood.” Klaveno’s credits include Hallmark telepic “While the Children Sleep” and “ER.”

More images of Mariana here
A audio interview she did and mentions TB here
imbd listing here
Video below Lorena turns Bill ....


~~~

From Variety

The women in Bill Compton's life

We know about some of the women that Bill has be involved with. Here are the ones we know:

Caroline Holliday Compton, his human wife they lived together from 1858-1865.

You can look at his family tree here ( it's a HUUGGEE spoiler )
We find out about his human family on the last few pages of Book2 , Living Dead in Dallas.

This the photo of his human family ( Caroline and their children) we see in True Blood.

Lorena "his maker" 1865-@1938

She made him a vampire in 1868 according to the book and 1865 in True Blood.They lived together as a couple for about 80 years according to the books.

Sookie describes her in book 3, Club Dead "Her fangs were all out, and she was snarling at me over Bill's head. She was a blond, like me, but her eyes were brown and her build was smaller; she was a tiny woman. She had dried blood on her hands, and I knew it was Bill's."
Photo at right is the actress Mariana Klaveno as Lorena in True Blood. More info here

Vampire Diane @1939

In True Blood, Diane is a previous lover of Bill. He tells Sookie "they had sex once in the late 1930's , right after she was made vampire. Vampire Diane was played by Aunjanue Ellis in the series. Photo right.

Sookie Stackhouse 2008

Dead until Dark takes place in late Spring , early summer 2004 and Bill and Sookie are together as a couple until the first paragraph of book three, Club Dead which takes place Christmas week 2004,
In the series True Blood it takes place in 2008.

Selah Pumphrey January -October 2005 (book)

Then of course, there is the human woman, Selah Pumphrey that Bill dates 4 books after Sookie (books 5- 8), Selah Pumphrey is described as slim and brunette with shoulder length hair...

In Book 5, Dead as a Doornail 'Bill brought a date into Merlotte’s that night. I assumed this was payback for my kissing Sam, or maybe I was just being proud. This possible payback was in the form of a woman from Clarice. I’d seen her in the bar before every once in a while. She was a slim brunette with shoulder-length hair, and Danielle could hardly wait to tell me she was Selah Pumphrey, a real estate saleswoman who’d gotten the million-dollar sales award the year before.I hated her instantly, utterly, and passionately.'

Bill explains Lorena to Sookie

book 4 bill explains lorena to sookie

"If you have something to say, you better go on and say it," I told him.
He nodded, almost to himself. "I have to explain," he said. His white hands arranged themselves in his lap. "Lorena and I—"
I flinched involuntarily. I never wanted to hear that name again. He'd dumped me for Lorena.
"I have to tell you," he said, almost angrily. He'd seen me twitch. "Give me this chance." After a second, I waved a hand to tell him to continue.
"The reason I went to Jackson when she called me is that I couldn't help myself," he said.
My eyebrows flew up. I'd heardthat before. It means, "I have no self-control," or, "It seemed worth it at the time, and I wasn't thinking north of my belt."
"We were lovers long ago. As Eric says he told you, vampire liaisons don't tend to last long, though they're very intense while they are ongoing. However, what Eric did not tell you was that Lorena was the vampire who brought me over."
"To the Dark Side?" I asked, and then I bit my lip. This was no subject for levity.
"Yes," Bill agreed seriously. "And we were together after that, as lovers, which is not always the case."
"But you had broken up . . ."
"Yes, about eighty years ago, we came to the point where we couldn't tolerate each other any longer. I hadn't seen Lorena since, though I'd heard of her doings, of course."
"Oh, sure," I said expressionlessly. "But I had to obey her summons. This is absolutely imperative. When your maker calls, you must respond." His voice was urgent.
I nodded, trying to look understanding. I guess I didn't do too good a job.
"She ordered me to leave you," he said. His dark eyes were peering into mine. "She said she would kill you if I didn't."
I was losing my temper. I bit the inside of my cheek, real hard, to make myself focus. "So, without explanation or discussion with me, you decided what was best for me and for you." "I had to," he said. "Ihad to do her bidding. And I knew she was capable of harming you."
"Well, you got that right." In fact, Lorena had done her dead level best to harm me right into the grave. But I'd gotten her first—okay, by a fluke, but it had worked. "And now you no longer love me," Bill said, with the slightest of questions in his voice. I didn't have any clear answer. "I don't know," I said. "I wouldn't think you'd want to come back to me. After all, I killed yourmom. " And there was the slightest of questions in my voice, too, but mostly I was bitter. "Then we need more time apart. When I return, if you consent, we'll talk again. A kiss good-bye?" To my shame, I would love to kiss Bill again. But it was such a bad idea, even wanting it seemed wrong. We stood, and I gave him a quick brush of lips to the cheek. His white skin shone with a little glow that distinguished vampires from humans. It had surprised me to learn that not everyone saw them like I did. "Are you seeing the Were?" he asked, when he was nearly out the door. He sounded as though the words had been pulled out of him by their roots. "Which one?" I asked, resisting the temptation to bat my eyelashes. He deserved no answer, and he knew it. "How long will you be gone?" I asked more briskly, and he looked at me with some speculation.

Bill tells Sookie that Lorena was the vampire who brought me over..

Book 3

"I have to tell you," he said, almost angrily. He'd seen me twitch. "Give me this chance." After a second, I waved a hand to tell him to continue.
"The reason I went to Jackson when she called me is that I couldn't help myself," he said.
My eyebrows flew up. I'd heard that before. It means, "I have no self-control," or, "It seemed worth it at the time, and I wasn't thinking north of my belt."
"We were lovers long ago. As Eric says he told you, vampire liaisons don't tend to last long, though they're very intense while they are ongoing. However, what Eric did not tell you was that Lorena was the vampire who brought me over."

and

Sookie: "I *never* did. But even if I had, you know what? It would serve you right you betraying son of a bitch."
Bill: "You're right."
...
Sookie: "...Eric and Pam and Chow came to tell me you'd been snatched."
Bill: "And they told you...?"
Sookie: "That you were planning on leaving me. Yes. They told me."
Bill: "I already got paid back for that piece of madness."

Sookie meets and kills Lorena

book 3

I would have been dead in a minute if she hadn't been as shocked as I was. I twisted my arm from her grasp and pivoted around Bill in his chair. Her fangs were all out, and she was snarling at me over Bill's head. She was a blond, like me, but her eyes were brown and her build was smaller; she was a tiny woman. She had dried blood on her hands, and I knew it was Bill's. A flame started up inside me.

I could feel it flicker through my eyes. "You must be his little human bitch whore," she said. "He was fucking me, all this time, you understand. The minute he saw me, he forgot about you, except for pity." Well, Lorena wasn't elegant, but she knew where to sink the verbal knife. I batted the words aside, because she wanted to distract me. I shifted my grip on the stake to be ready, and she leaped across Bill to land on top of me.

As she moved, without a conscious decision I whipped up the stake and pointed it at an angle. As she came down on me, the sharp point went in her chest and out the other side. Then we were on the floor. I was still gripping the end of the stake, and she was holding herself off of me with her
arms. She looked down at the wood in her chest, astonished.

Then she looked in my eyes, her mouth agape, her fangs retracting. "No," she said. Her eyes went dull. I used the stake to push her to my left side, and I scrambled up off the floor. I was panting, and my hands shook violently. She didn't move. The whole incident had been so swift and so quiet that it hardly felt real. Bill's eyes went from the thing on the floor to me. His expression was unreadable. "Well," I told him, "I killed her ass."

Eric and Bill quarrel and get kicked out of Sookies house

End of bk 3

"Oh, by the way, Bill, the queen called Fangtasia this evening to find out why you are late with her little job. She had been unable to reach you at your home for several nights, she said." Bill resumed brushing my hair. "

I will call her back later," he said. "From my place. She'll be glad to hear that I've completed it." "You nearly lost everything," Eric said, his sudden outburst startling everyone in
the room. Pam slipped out the front door after she'd looked from Eric to Bill.

That kind of scared me. "Yes, I'm well aware of that," Bill said. His voice, always cool and sweet, was absolutely frigid. Eric, on the other hand, tended toward the fiery. "You were a fool to take up with that she-demon again," Eric said. "Hey, guys, I'm sitting right here," I said. They both glared at me.

They seemed determined to finish this quarrel, and I figured I would leave them to go at it. Once they were outside. I hadn't thanked Eric for the driveway yet, and I wanted to, but tonight was maybe not the time. "Okay," I said. "I'd hoped to avoid this, but... Bill, I rescind your invitation into my house." Bill began walking backward to the door, a helpless look on his face, and my brush still in his hand.

Eric grinned at him triumphantly.

Eric tells Sookie about Bill going back to Lorena

bk 3 pg 20

"Sookie, you are too much," he said, but not as though he found that particularly endearing. "I'm not going to torture you. For one thing, I would hate to ruin that beautiful skin; one day, I
will see all of it." I just hoped it was still on my body when that happened.

"You won't always be so afraid of me," he said, as if he were absolutely certain of the future. "And you won't always be as devoted to Bill as you are now. There is something I must tell you." Here came the Big Bad. His cool fingers twined with mine, and without wanting t o, I held his hand hard. I couldn't think of a word to say, at least a word that was safe. My eyes fixed on his. "Bill was summoned to Mississippi," Eric told me, "by a vampire—a female—he'd known many years ago. I don't know if you've realized that vampires almost never mate with other vampires,
for any longer than a rare one-night affair. We don't do this because it gives us power over each other forever, the mating and sharing of blood.

This vampire..." "Her name," I said. "Lorena," he said reluctantly. Or maybe he wanted to tell me all along, and the reluctance was just for show. Who the heck knows, with a vampire. He waited to see if I would speak, but I did not. "She was in Mississippi. I am not sure if she regularly lives there, or if she went there to ensnare Bill. She had been living in Seattle for years, I know, because she and Bill lived there together for many years." I had wondered why he'd picked Seattle as his fictitious destination. He hadn't just plucked it out of the air. "But whatever her intention in asking him to meet her there ... what excuse she gave him for not coming here .. . maybe he was just being careful of you ..." I wanted to die at that moment. I took a deep breath and looked down at our joined hands.

I was too humiliated to look in Eric's eyes. "He was—he became—instantly enthralled with her, all over again. After a few nights, he called Pam to say that he was coming home early without telling you, so he could arrange your future care before he saw you again." "Future care?" I sounded like a crow. "Bill wanted to make a financial arrangement for you." The shock of it made me blanch. "Pension me off," I said numbly. No matter how well he had meant, Bill could not have offered me any greater offense. When he'd been in my life, it had never occurred to him to ask me how my finances were faring—though he could hardly wait to help his newly discovered descendants, the Bellefleurs. But when he was going to be out of my life, and felt guilty for leaving pitiful, pitiable me—then he started worrying. "He wanted ..." Eric began, then stopped and looked closely at my face. "Well, leave that for now. I would not have told you any of this, if Pam hadn't interfered. I would have sent you off in ignorance, because then it wouldn't have
been words from my mouth that hurt you so badly