I promised myself I wouldn’t watch Alan Ball’s acclaimed HBO drama True Blood until they came to their senses and hired a Latina to appear on the show. The show (finally) came through for me on Sunday night, and I happily tuned into True Blood as it welcomed its first Latina (and first Latin vampire), Cuban beauty Valerie Cruz (Nip/Tuck, Dexter) to the show in the recurring role of Isabella Beaumont, an elegant, 600-year-old Spanish vampire-with-a-soul (think Rob Pattinson in Twilight) who rolls with the super-scary Dallas coven of vamps! I called Ms. Cruz to get all the deets on her biting new role, and the gracious (and super-intelligent) actress, who is perhaps best known for her role as Silvia Prado (Jimmy Smits’s wife on Dexter), gave me the 411 on all things True Blood, including why the evil Dallas vamps are not to be messed with, why her character may be on Bill and Sookie’s side after all and why a certain Oscar-winning Spanish actress may have served as the inspiration for her character’s Spanish accent.

Your character Isabel isn’t your typical vamp, is she?
As far as vampires go, no. She has a penchant for humans and a vulnerability. She wants to try to find a way to coexist with them.

So in a crowd of evil vamps, Isabel is like the Edward Cullen of True Blood—a vampire with a soul?
Yes, definitely! That is actually a very accurate description.

Except that she lived during the Spanish Inquisition and she’s 600 years old! Does she feel old?
I think she does in the sense that she’s become a little world-weary.

How did you come up with Isabel’s Spanish accent?
I’ve been doing accents for a long time. The people I modeled it after would have to be Penélope Cruz or Antonio Banderas, or somebody from Spain. That was very important for me [to get the accent just right], because when you have a character on a show that has a big cast, every bit of that character matters—from her hairstyle and accent to the way she dresses.

Speaking of Isabel’s wardrobe, that white dress she had on Sunday night was really elegant! Would you ever wear something like that in real life?
No! Probably not. It takes a lot of confidence to wear that thing. I’d be too self-conscious. Unless I’m feeling especially saucy that day. And that outfit is pretty tight! But the wardrobe designers and the hair and makeup people on the show are amazing. I told them my ideas and they ran with all of them. I wanted to really define where she came from—what region. I had read stuff on the Spanish Inquisition, and jotted stuff down. There’s a sophistication in Old Spain and that was an element we brought in—that Isabel never lost that heritage. You will see a Spanish element to Isabel throughout.

Sunday night’s episode made it abundantly clear that the Dallas Vamps—most of whom we haven’t met yet—are not to be messed with! Seriously, they sound like they’re nuts. How crazy and dangerous are they?
They’re big city vampires. They are crazy. Stan is crazy. They are looking for domination, and there are vamps in their nest that have no qualms about taking human life. They definitely feel like they’re the superior race, so to speak—if you can call vampires a race. There are definitely some crazies in there too. That’s why Isabel is so intense with Stan, because she’s outnumbered in regard to her feelings of starting a war—she doesn’t want to start a war.

Sunday night, Isabel and Stan were acting like they were a couple, fighting as they were during the entire episode. Are they romantic?
No, they are definitely not. You’d think so, because they’re kind of these sexual beings, vampires. It’s like when Bill and Eric fight—there is a sexuality there, a tension that’s always there between, even the male to male vampire relationships. These are two people who can bite each other in the jugular, so there’s a basic carnal sensuality to those kind of people even when they argue.

I detected a little tension between Isabel and Sookie (Anna Paquin) in Sunday’s episode. Does Isabel dislike her?
By next week, you’ll see that that is not the case. When they first introduced me, you don’t know who’s where, and you don’t who who lands on what side of the fence. You don’t know who’s for or against the heroes, which are Sookie and Bill. But that’s what adds a sense of danger to the show. You’ll see…

What kind of preparation did you do for the role?
I did a lot of research on 14th century Spain and the Spanish Inquisition. That was really the starting point.

How many episodes have you done so far?
Six. We’re wrapped for the season because it’s a 13-episode per season show.
Word on the street is that you used to be obsessed with True Blood while you were filming Dexter. Is this true?
Yeah! I was an absolute traitor! I would watch Mad Men followed by True Blood. It was so funny because every time we were nominated that year for an award on Dexter, those were the two shows we were up against—not that I don’t love Dexter. I think Michael C. Hall is one of the best actors out there, period!

Did you ever think you’d be starring on True Blood?
I think I did. [Laughs] Somewhere in the back of my head, it was definitely like, “I want to be on that show.” I feel the same way about Mad Men. I didn’t know for sure I’d be on it, but I definitely wanted to be.

True Blood films late at night. Did you ever get scared during filming? It’s a scary show!
Not really. A lot of the stuff is shot on the stages, so even if you’re there until 4 in the morning, it’s not super-scary because there are a lot of people around. But the creepiest location was the largest cemetery in the country—maybe the world. It was huge, and there were tons and tons of graves.

Are you 100 percent Cuban?
Yes, both of my parents came from Cuba in the ’60s.

Do you know any Latinos who act like vampires? That is, who come over uninvited, don’t need sleep?
I’m Cuban, so I know a lot of people who act like vampires. But wait, vampires have to be invited to your house, so maybe they are nothing like Latinos! (Laughs)

Thanks for your vampertise! Now educate me on this: What makes a Latina vampire different or unique from other non-Latin vamps?
That she has a definitive sense of style! She has a sensibility of her own sort of persecution too, which lends to her a sensitivity that the other vampires don’t have.

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~M.

fancast.com

Valerie Cruz has managed to score the cable television triple crown. She portrayed Grace Santiago in the first season of Nip/Tuck, then moved onto Dexter, where she played Sylvia Prado. Now she’s joined True Blood, as the Dallas-based vampire Isabel who arrives in Dallas this Sunday. Cruz shared why she loved burning the midnight oil on the set, how she approached playing a very senior citizen and why she’s relieved Isabel did not appear in any of the show’s famous sex scenes.

Who is Isabel?

She is a vampire they’ve introduced this season. [Sookie and Bill] take a trip to Dallas. According to the books she’s about 600 years old. So she’s been around the block. As vampires go she’s a little more in the vein of having a sensitivity and a conscience. She’s pretty fabulous. She has great costumes, a great hairstyle. I don’t think we’ve really seen a vampire quite like her yet.

 Why are Bill and Sookie in Dallas? How is Isabel involved in their story?

I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but if you read the books you know they go to Dallas to help find a missing vampire. That’s how they encounter all the people in Dallas.

In the book, Isabel worked at a vampire hotel. Is that what she’s doing on the TV series as well?

Yes. Definitely. They did such a great job on the sets. It’s pretty amazing. It was interesting to read the book and then walk onto the set and see the recreation. It’s like bringing it out of the mind and bringing it into physical form.

What was it like working with Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer?

I can’t say enough good things. Stephen Moyer is probably the most gracious, gifted actor that I’ve met. He’s really intelligent. He has a real sensitivity to his character, to scenes, to scripts. Anna’s definitely the same way. It was strange because I was a big fan of the show before I [was cast] and interacting with them after being on the outside looking in was a real interesting trip. They’re both really sweet people, kind, and hard workers. The hours on that set are insane. It’s a vampire show, so you’re shooting into the night, getting off at five in the morning. If you can go to work every day after working those hours and be as gracious and kind as both of them are, it’s a real testimony to who they are as people.

How did you approach playing a character who was 600 years old?

A book gives you a lot of back story. On TV there’s not always that time so as an actor, when you come on and you get this character you have to create it from head to toe. I did a lot of research on vampires, read books, watched different movies. I pieced together what it was that I wanted for her. I put her at 600 years old. I thought about the Spanish inquisition. When I knew the time period where she was made it was easier to flesh her out. I took my ideas to wardrobe and the hair and make-up department. They’re so creative. They got on board with the ideas I had. You can tell by the way she dresses. There are hints to a different time and place. I think all these vampires have a world weariness about them. I’ve only lived 33 years and I feel world weary. I can’t imagine having walked the earth for that number of years with no end in sight.

Does Isabel have any of the show’s trademark wild sex scenes?

No, she did not. Thank God! I saved myself and the rest of the world a bad, bad sight.

You’ve been on a lot of popular television shows. Other than True Blood, what was your favorite role?

I have a movie coming out that I put a lot of my heart and soul into in August with Ray Liotta called La Ligne. That was really interesting. I learned about another side of life that I had never seen, life in Mexico. It’s interesting because we filmed the movie prior to Mexico really being on the grid for everyone. Now everyone can see it on CNN. It’s like martial law over there: tons of crime, tons of drugs, people can’t go out on the streets. I don’t think I had a sensitivity for the plight of people over there, why people were fleeing over here. Now I think I have a little more insight.

You also were on Dexter. Who is scarier: vampires or Dexter?

Dexter is scarier. With vampires you know exactly what you’re getting. There’s rules and regulations. With Dexter, Michael [C. Hall] is such an amazing actor. He’s pretty freaking scary. I think I’d have a better chance getting out alive with a vampire.

Have you deliberately chosen to work on edgy cable shows instead of network television?

It’s weird. After getting cast on True Blood my agent [said] I’m the cable queen. They take more risks on cable shows. I’ve been lucky to be a part of them. They’re really ahead of their time. The [cable channels] look at the shows very differently. With network, shows are pulled half the time after three episodes whether they’re good or they’re not good. It’s a numbers game. With cable, they can take a lot more liberties. So they take risks. With Nip/Tuck, I had never even done anything before I got on that show. They created that character for me. I was reading for something else. I haven’t set out to do it on purpose, but I go where the material is. With Dexter and True Blood, there was no doubt in my mind. who doesn’t want to work on great shows with great actors?

What television shows do you like to watch in your fee time?

I have to confess last year my Sunday nights consisted of Mad Men and True Blood. That was literally my Sunday night. I do like 30 Rock. Family Guy is one of my favorites as well.

By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith- nationalledger.com

Valerie Cruz, who comes aboard “True Blood” this season as the show’s first Latina vampire, Isabel, recounts that she was surprised to find series creator Alan Ball on hand when she first went in for a casting meeting.

Valerie Cruz, ‘True Blood’s’ First Latina Vampire Speaks (Image: WENN)

“Funny, I wasn’t even expecting him to be in the room. A lot of producers nowadays, it’s like they can’t even be bothered to be in the room anymore. They want it on tape,” says the actress, known as Sylvia Prado — Jimmy Smits’ wife — to “Dexter” fans. “There are a lot of things you can’t get from an audition tape — the energy when someone walks in, their interaction. Alan is such a class act. He’s there at every table read. The writers I’ve spoken to say he’s incredibly gracious — he trusts the people that he hires to really do a great job. The cool thing about it is, once you’re cast, once the whole thing is put together, he takes a step back and lets people do creatively what they want to do.”

One thing she did, as Isabel, “I definitely asked for the wardrobe. Everyone was pretty gracious about that. She’s 600 years old and definitely from the time of the Spanish Inquisition in my mind. It’s pretty clear where she comes from. She still speaks with a Spanish accent.”

Adds Cruz, “I’ve always loved vampires, so I was really excited about doing the show. Well, you’d be hard-pressed to find an actor who doesn’t get excited about the prospect of playing a character with this mindset that you live forever. The world just weighs on you differently, you know? That’s part of what makes vampires so interesting to play. In a sense they lack humanity, but in another sense there is a great humanness about them.”

Cruz says she became an avid fan of “True Blood” in its first season. “My handful of Sunday nights when I could watch TV were ‘Mad Men’ and ‘True Blood,’ even though I was working on ‘Dexter’ at the time. It made me feel a little bit of a traitor.”