Fiona Shaw on Playing a Witch, Meeting Vampires, & More
Vulture has a lovely new interview with Fiona Shaw, currently wrecking havoc on True Blood as Marnie, the witch with increasing powers thanks to Antonia.
Were you a fan of the books or the show before you signed on for this?
Alan Ball discouraged me from reading the books, which I don’t regret; I don’t want to hanker for material I don’t have. But when I started reading the scripts, and the first lot of Latin came my way, I knew there were challenges ahead! [Laughs.] And when we had the first read-through, and suddenly seeing all these vampires in person, that was very stunning. I had to adjust and remind myself that they’re all just actors. Nan and Pam, they’re my favorites. Both vampires, both very sour.Were you disappointed they didn’t offer you a vampire role?
I’m glad I’m not a vampire, but I never thought about it beyond that! And you know, I’ve never seen a vampire show before this one. Can you believe it? [Laughs.] So I was very excited to play a witch. It puts the vocabulary of witches back on the imaginative scale, and it gives you a new eye for them. I’ve been playing at casting them when I’m looking at people at bus stops, on the subway: Who’s a vampire, and who’s a witch? That’s one of the delightful things about the series. Everyone looks normal in Sam’s bar, and then you look again, and you find they have more gifts, and more drawbacks. True Blood celebrates the fact that we should never underestimate anyone.
