As if that wasn't enough, it's time to say hello to some new creatures - werewolves! One of the canine chaps joining the show is Joe Manganiello, who'll be taking on the role of Alcide. We caught up with Joe to find out a bit more about Alcide, the "chemistry" between him and Sookie, and why he could have played another werewolf...
Can you give us a little introduction to Alcide?
"Season three's going to be introducing a new race on True Blood - the werewolves. Alcide is a bit of a recluse. He's a lone wolf!"When we meet him he's gone through heartbreak and just wants to be left alone and is kind of holed up in his house, but he's dragged out of the house because his father runs up a debt to Eric Northman, the vampire. And in order to alleviate this debt he is forced to work as a bodyguard, to escort Sookie into the underground and secret society of werewolves.
"Bill's gone missing and Sookie finds out that werewolves have something to do with it. And so my character's brought in to escort her into the very secretive and exclusive werewolf society, the underground werewolf society."
You don't want to be in debt to Eric, do you?
"No, being in debt to a vampire is not good! So my father has definitely gotten himself in a bad situation. He's painted himself into a corner, so I have to go and help out. Getting my character to babysit - I mean, I'm not sure how great of an idea that was because there is a bit of chemistry that develops between my character and Sookie."
Tell us about the relationship between Alcide and Sookie.
"Well there's, oh God! They both... oh God. They both are having some relationship issues at the time, let's say.
"There's a lot of duplicity that I think goes on with vampires. There are sinister motives underneath the surface, and no matter how loving or caring a vampire is you know there is a part of his nature that is ruthless. And my character, the way he was written, I wanted people to feel about my character the way they feel about their dog. You just love your dog, you want to hug your dog and no matter how mean you are, whatever happens with your dog he always comes back. And your dog will protect you and fight to protect you and no matter how great the odds are, your dog will always try to protect you.
"I think there's an amount of that at the heart of my character. He really is, I guess, a morally good character on a show that is full of people that aren't, and I think it's very refreshing. I think also, aside from that, my character can go out in the daylight and he can take Sookie to lunch or afternoon tea, whereas a vampire couldn't!"
What is it about Sookie that makes everyone fall in love with her?
"Well, there's something in her spirit, I think. And I think as far as my character goes, he wants to be left alone and in that way he's the classic reluctant hero. Sookie has a spunk to her and she basically drags Alcide into trouble. Like, a lot of trouble that he doesn't want to be involved in and his better judgement tells him not to be involved in. But she drags him off into these adventures and forces him into these heroic situations.
"I think at the end of the day as much of a pain as that is, I think he knows that it's a good thing for him. And I think in the end he becomes a better man as a result."
Is it weird filming romantic-type scenes with Sookie when her husband (Stephen Moyer, who plays Bill) is on set?
"Um, no. No. Listen, there are lots of crazier things that I have to do on set than some of those scenes. Let me just make that clear! And everyone is, I mean, they're just such great actors. Stephen has to do his crazy things and Anna [Paquin] has to do her crazy things and I have to do my crazy things, so we're all doing a bunch of crazy things in different combinations, and that's just kind of the fun of the show."
You mentioned earlier that Alcide is morally good - is that nice for you considering that the other werewolves aren't so nice?
"It is. It's interesting, yeah. Because along with that goes a bit of self-loathing, I think. But also I think that's the comment we're making about people, or making about what's in the heart of men. We are all part animal, and so it's what separates us animal-wise from human-wise and what is that separation.
"I think that playing a morally good character among a bunch of people who give into that animalistic side, it's something that I identify with and certainly when I'm stopped by men at the gym or men on the street and they talk to me - 'I love your character' - I think it's because it is cathartic to think that you can let that animal loose and not be... not be arrested, for starters!
"But aside from that I think it's that struggle that every guy lives with which is that you want to solve things with your fists, you want to jump out of your car and beat that person who cut you off, and you can't. Also, in general, men may be outwardly tough but I think on the inside there's a sensitivity and I think that's a fun thing to get to explore.
"That duality is something really fun about the character and I think it's something that really hits home with people and makes him very interesting to play. If he was just a werewolf running around snarling, it wouldn't be that interesting. But it's really neat - I think the show is really neat and works best because it takes these bloodthirsty monsters and your experience of how they should behave and really turns it on its head. And therefore we're talking about what it is to be human, and they're all struggling with the human side."
Do you feel pressure to stay in shape, given that you have a few topless scenes?
"Yeah, that's a side of it. The other side of it is that there's source material, these novels, and my character is described as being very physically imposing. And so it was important to me to try to match that description as well as possible.
"Being a thorough actor and enjoying the prep work that goes into creating a character, whether it's dialect wise or the emotional content or the physical appearance, it was important for me to also create a character that as soon as people saw him they'd have an idea about him.
"And I wanted him to be physically imposing because I knew that he was very sensitive and dealing with sensitive issues. It helps me as an actor to play off his physical appearance because I think it really makes those moments where he is sensitive hit much more. When you see him among the ensemble, this giant huge werewolf, and then you realise that he's probably the most sensitive out of all of them, I think it's really poignant."
On the physical side, is there competition between you and the other guys on set?
"No! Not really. Surprisingly, no-one there is really competitive. Which is nice, because when I got there, there were five, six leading men already on the show, so I wasn't really sure. I've worked on other projects where people had a bit of a Napoleon complex and would try to alpha male you when you showed up. There's none of that on our set. Everyone is really just down to earth and genuine and it really does feel like a team and a family.
"And the show is so successful because there are so many fully realised characters and plotlines and things, and so the cast is so brilliant and eclectic that it doesn't really feel like we're stepping on each other's toes because the characters are so different from one another. If you really line up the ensemble everyone is so different from each other, so we're all just doing our different thing to the best of our abilities."
Is it true you originally auditioned to play another werewolf, Coot?
"I did, yes. Coot was the first werewolf to show up, or the first werewolf they were auditioning for, so I guess the casting director knew that they were going to bring me in for a werewolf. They had thought about me for Alcide but decided to bring me in for Coot just to bring me in to the mix.
"In my understanding, I read for Coot, walked out of the room, and [creator] Alan [Ball] turned to everyone and said, 'I think that's Alcide'. So they actually tacked my picture on the wall and they said it was the only picture on the wall for several weeks, until I eventually did read for Alcide. They brought me in to read for Alcide and gave me the part that afternoon."
"Yeah, Alcide was the one I wanted to play, for sure. Definitely. That was the part that was interesting because I had read the books in preparation for my audition and I just identified. I also read the description of Alcide and it said that Sookie opens the door and has to look up, and look up again, and standing before her was this tall guy, long unkempt dark hair, with an unshaven face, who would look at home working on a wharf. And I thought, 'OK, yeah, I could do this'. He's a construction worker - 'Yeah, this is great! I could totally do that'."
