Intervju med Lindsay Pulsipher
True Blood is well into its third season, and it has been fantastic so far. It’s probably the craziest and wildest season yet, and I am enjoying every minute of it. One thing creator Alan Ball doesn’t shy away from is the introduction of new characters. This season we’ve seen new (and sexy) werewolves (ahem Alcide), a new Merlotte’s waitress, and a wolf pack who are into drugs and vampire blood. Crystal Norris (one of those new characters) is a love interest for Jason, but there’s still an air of mystery surrounding her. She comes from the Norris family, who are involved with drugs and she appears to have a fiancee. But what is the real deal with Jason’s new crush? I recently had the chance to chat with Lindsay Pulsipher, who plays Crystal, about the mysterious role, what’s coming up for Crystal and what draws her character (besides the obvious) to Jason Stackhouse.
What originally drew you to the role of Crystal Norris?
I haven’t read the books, but after I got to know her through the writers of True Blood — through their eyes — I was just fascinated with her mystery. She was written with a lot of mystery, and she has several layers going on. And as we’ll soon see later in the season, she’s got a lot of things that she’s trying to cope with and deal with in her life, and I just loved the aspect of being able to play such a complicated, mysterious character. It was really exciting for me.
Definitely. Crystal also has a very interesting background. Can you tell us a little bit more about her family and where she came from?
Little things are revealed throughout the season — more and more about her past and her history — but she’s from this family that cooks meth and they’re meth heads basically (laughs). She’s never really left this compound. It’s all she’s ever really known. She doesn’t really have a social life outside of the compound, so the world outside of that is just so big and intimidating to her I think.
For those who have read the books, or picked up on hints in the show, know that Crystal has some supernatural or non-human elements to her. How are you able to relate to a character that might not be entirely human?
There’s some instincts that Crystal might have that might be a bit foreign to normal folk. (laughs) In the books, she definitely has some supernatural powers. And I think that she has the instincts which myself as a normal person might not have and it was really fun to explore — I’m getting into dangerous territory (laughs).
Don’t worry, I know you can’t spoil too much! What has it been like working so closely with Ryan Kwanten? I’ve heard he’s a bit of a prankster, so are those scenes filmed seriously or is there a lot of joking around?
Oh my God, Ryan is absolutely a practical joker, and very spontaneous in his acting. So we could be doing the most serious, heartfelt scene, and he could pull some little trick or some little Jason-ism out of his hat, and completely throw me off (laughs), which I completely appreciate as an actor — to keep it fresh and funny and spontaneous. And he definitely does that. He’s a great actor, and he really knows his character well, so that is really refreshing to act opposite somebody that is so in tune with his inner Jason. (laughs) It was so much fun.
That’s good to hear. And what do you think draws Crystal to Jason?
I think that it’s his — obviously, he’s a very charismatic person, and when he approaches her truck and she seems him without a shirt (laughs) [like] “Who is this? And what is this guy doing?” so there’s that element of charm, and he’s very funny. But I think on a deeper level, she’s been locked up on the compound, and I think that she might see a little bit of an escape for her, and a way for her to maybe put her past life behind her, and she kind of looks at him and thinks “Could he be the one to help me do this?”
Right. And on the alternate side, why do you think Jason is so drawn to Crystal? She’s different from any other girl he’s been with before.
It’s a hard question for me to answer. I’ve been asked that before. It’s hard for me to answer for Ryan, but I think she’s kind of mysterious and maybe he’s picking up on some things that Crystal has going on in her life that other girls in the past haven’t really had. And I think that there’s that air of mystery that he’s intrigued by.
And what has it been like coming into such a tight knit cast? Has it been a very welcoming experience for you?
It has. Everybody’s been so, so friendly and just so welcoming. You can tell that the cast and crew just absolutely love their job. It just shines through. When you are in that sort of work environment, it just makes the whole experience that much more pleasant and enjoyable. Everybody on the show are such talented actors, that it really maintains this level of commitment and quality to their work, that I think is just so important. I think that people watching the show get that and understand that. I think that everybody loves their job and it just shows. You want to go to work, and you’re excited to go to work and get to play around with all of these amazing actors.
Is there someone that you’d like to have scenes with in the future that you may not have worked with yet?
Oh my goodness, every scene that gets written that I was able to act with another actor on the show was just so exciting for me. Every single person on this show are so great and so talented that it’s so much fun to do new things with any of them. So yeah, every single one.
What has it been like working with Alan Ball? Has he given you a lot of insight into your character?
You know when I first started, he definitely had some amazing things to tell me about Crystal, about her past. He had a lot of tools that really helped me create this character. He has a very careful eye, and he’s very good at details. And that is so refreshing to work with as an actor, to have these very specific notes and directions that he and all of the writers want the show to go in, and it was very helpful as an actor.
What has been the most challenging aspect of the role?
I would say maintaining the integrity of the character, and just staying true to all of those different layers and struggles in her life. And I wanted to create a sense of empathy that Crystal in the books might not have had. I really wanted her to be a human relatable character and I think that just staying true to her different colors and her complex levels was probably the most challenging.
I think so far on screen, she seems very innocent. But there’s definitely more layers below the surface, and a lot that you don’t know about her yet.
Yeah, she definitely displays some more spirited and colorful layers later on in the season. (laughs)
Have you gotten a lot of feedback about your character? I know people who read the books must have a very specific vision of Crystal, so I’m curious if you’ve gotten feedback.
I have. She’s still pretty brand new. We’ve only seen her in a couple of episodes. But the feedback that I have gotten has been positive. People seem to like her so far. I don’t know if that’s going to change as the season goes on (laughs).
And I know you can’t spoil too much, but can you give us a little teaser of what’s coming up in the rest of the season for Crystal?
Crystal will definitely bring some surprises and a little bit of trouble for some of the other people in Bon Temps. And she creates some chaos. (laughs). She’s a little troublemaker!
I can’t wait! And obviously, I write all about TV, so I wanted to know if you had any favorite shows you were watching besides True Blood.
I am a huge Breaking Bad fan. (laughs) I love that show. I think it’s amazing. That’s my latest obsession. I just caught up with all of the season, and I think it’s just so brilliantly written and amazing.
