Middle Age Hollywood

Viewers haven’t yet seen much of the romance between Anna Paquin’s Sookie Stackhouse and Manganiello’s Alcide, which takes up much of the third book, Club Dead. But, as Manganiello tells us, more is on the way.

What can you tell us about the future of Alcide that may differ from what fans of the book are expecting?

There’s some unusual alliances formed, I’ll say that. Alcide has some unusual alliances. Alcide has also made some enemies by the end of the season. And you start to see Alcide’s arc. He goes from this unlikely hero construction worker into becoming more of a leader. So you’ll see him come out of his shell a little bit more. He does get involved. And by getting involved, he makes some enemies and some unlikely alliances. And you’re going to see Alcide very much in the middle of a courtship with Sookie; you’re going to him positioning himself among her potential suitors.

There have been two scenes this season where Alcide shows up—one with Sookie, one with Tara—and they’re scared of him, at first. All Alcide has to say is, “I’m a good guy,” and he’s immediately believed. Why is that?

It’s interesting because there are also other scenes where Alcide talks about his instincts—or at least hints at his instincts. He says to Sookie, “I trust you.” In this past episode, Debbie threatens Alcide and he looks at her and says, “I believe you.” I think there’s a lot of instinct; werewolves come from their heart—they act first and think later. Saying, “I’m a good guy, trust me,” I think there’s a vibe that he radiates.

So we are going to see that as the season progresses.

They’ve been under a lot of stress right now. There have been a couple of opportunities for him to go there with Sookie, but if he had taken those opportunities, he would have gone against his moral code. He would be less of a man for taking advantage of her.