Telepathic in Louisiana

Anna Paquin, 26, is mind-reading Southern waitress Sookie Starkhouse in the HBO vampire series True Blood, which starts September 7 in the United States. Paquin chats with Women’s Wear Daily about going blonde (and tan) for the role, shooting in the South and waiting tables for the first time. “[Louisiana] was hotter than hell,” Paquin says. “There’s nothing that really prepares you if you’re not from there from stepping outside and feeling as if you just opened an oven into your face. But it kind of makes all the tiny, teeny, skimpy outfits seem incredibly justified.” Paquin’s character is described on the show’s official site as having learnt “to serve up a combination of sexiness and sass” though “she has yet to find out whether her bite can back up the bark.” True Blood is created by Six Feet Under’s Alan Ball.