Happy Birthday Michael McMillian!
October 21, 2014
TrueBloodNet.com would like to wish Michael a very happy birthday! May all your wishes come true!
(Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)
3 Former Vampires Discuss Being on True Blood
September 3, 2014
Michael McMillian, Denis O’Hare and James Frain Weigh in on the True Blood:
For fans of HBO’s True Blood, there were three vampires on the show that were arguably discussed more than all the others: Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian), Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare) and Franklin Mott (James Frain).
Steve was an anti-vampire religious zealot that was turned into a vampire and then came out to the world as not only being a vampire, but a gay vampire. Russell Edgington was the King of Louisiana who loved nothing more than to rip the beating heart out of newsreaders on national television.
Franklin, while his time was short on True Blood, was possibly the craziest of the three and had a unwanted crush on Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley) back when she was still a human. At that stage, Tara was very definitely anti-vampire, but, as we all know, was turned later on when she was shot. Frain had this to say about Tara being turned:
When Tara became a vampire, I was like, “Oh! Then we could have gotten married!” [Laughs] She was the one that got away! I just messed it up. I was too forward. I was too eager. I should have held back. But Franklin genuinely thought he was in love with Tara. He thought it was a legitimate elopement, and then couldn’t handle it. I think he needed quite a lot of therapy. Quite a lot.
The three actors got together recently to reminisce about their time on True Blood. Michael McMillian discussed how he is constantly being asked about who turned Steve into a vampire. He had this to say on the matter:
I would love to see how Steve became a vampire. It’s a question I get all the time, from fans and friends — will we ever get to find out who Steve’s maker is? I have my theories, though. In one script, in episode three of season five, it was going to be revealed that Salome was Steve’s maker. I think he gave her a hug, and she said, “As your maker, I command you to let go of me.” And then in a rewrite, that was taken out and the whole scene was changed, and that got lost, and it was never brought up again. So it was a mystery. I really wanted it to be Pam! [Laughs] There was a line when she was turning Tara, where she said she had done it once before and it didn’t work out, so she has another progeny we don’t know much about. So maybe during that year when Sookie was gone, she had to make Steve for some reason. [Laughs] But it doesn’t save Steve from being executed by Eric. I think it’s officially unofficial who Steve’s maker is.
As for Denis O’Hare, he still watches the show and even has an alternate ending for how he would have liked the show to finish:
I was catching up last night [before the Season 7 finale]. It’s a very weird magical world it creates. It feels like a version of reality that’s really warped …It would be great to have a really tacky ending, in which you suddenly go into Bellefleur’s, and a disco ball starts turning, and all the characters from the entire seven seasons suddenly start showing up and dancing. And you watch them all sort of dance with each other — Russell kind of sidles over and grabs Bill’s [Stephen Moyer] hand, and they do a little dance. And then Talbot [Theo Alexander] comes in and he points, “Whoa! You’re back!” And Franklin Mott walks in and everybody goes, “Franklin!” Something like that. A bad disco ending, I would take.
How would you describe your perfect alternate ending to HBO’s True Blood? Let us know by commenting below!
You can read the full interview Michael McMillian, Denis O’Hare and James Frain did with Vulture by clicking here.
Source: Vulture – 3 Wild and Crazy Former Vamps Reminisce About True Blood
(Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)
Dragon Con 2014: True Blood Stars to Attend This Weekend
August 28, 2014
Dragon Con Opens on Friday 29th August:
Truebies will be able to get their True Blood fix this weekend at Dragon Con 2014 in Atlanta, GA. Doors open early on Friday 29th August and there is plenty going on besides the True Blood cast. If you are into cosplay, science fiction, comics, fantasy and gaming, then this is the place for you to be.
Kristin Bauer van Straten (Pam), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette Reynolds), Michael McMillian (Steven Newlin) and Grant Bowler (Cooter) will be appearing during the course of the weekend. While Grant Bowler will be present for the Defiance panels, the other three cast members will be appearing at the times below:
True Blood—REBROADCAST ON DCTV
A look back at HBO’s supernatural series N.
Ellis, K. Bauer, M. McMillian
Friday 10:00 am; Peachtree Ballroom
Saturday – 11:30am; Centennial II-III
Sunday – 1:00pm; Peachtree Ballroom
Color Me Intrigued: Defiance Cast Q&A
The cast of Syfy’s hit show take a vacation from
their little slice of heaven to discuss all things
human and Votan. A. Sagers, K. Grazier, G. Bowler,
J. Rath
Friday 11:30 am; Peachtree Ballroom
Defiance: The Hard Way
No one is exactly who they appear to be, and
who better to shed light on the motives and
motivations of the characters than the cast who
play them.
Saturday 1:00 pm; Peachtree Ballroom
Defiance: Let Us Be Strong—REBROADCAST ON DCTV
The cast talk about the city they call home, as
it is both on screen and behind the scenes.
Sun 5:30 pm; Peachtree Ballroom
For a full schedule on the Dragon Con event, please click here, or visit the website here.
Let us know if you are attending the event by commenting below!
Source: Dragon Con – website
(Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)
VIDEO: More True Blood Cast Say ‘Thank You’ on Instagram
August 23, 2014
Todd Lowe, Anna Paquin, Lauren Bowles, Michael McMillian and Chris Bauer Thank the Fans:
Here we have it, another group of cast members – past and present – from HBO’s True Blood all saying thank you to all us truebies on Instagram! If you missed the other thank you videos, then you can view them here, here and here.
Todd Lowe
Todd Lowe sends a thank you to all of the military support he has received over the years. #RIPTrueBlood #TrueToTheEnd #GoodybesSuck
Anna Paquin
We literally couldn’t do this without you. “ @_AnnaPaquin sends her love to all Truebies out there. #RIPTrueBlood #TrueToTheEnd #GoodybesSuck
Lauren Bowles
Lauren Bowles sends a thank you to the #TrueBlood fan base. Watch the final episode this Sunday at 9PM. #RIPTrueBlood #TrueToTheEnd
Michael McMillian
@McMillzz thanks all of the loyal #TrueBlood fans. Send off the series this Sunday at 9 PM. #RIPTrueBlood #TrueToTheEnd
Chris Bauer
“Without you there is no us.” Chris Bauer thanks all of the loyal #TrueBlood fans. #RIPTrueBlood #TrueToTheEnd #GoodybesSuck
Source: Instagram – TrueBloodHBO
(Photo Credits: Instagram/HBO Inc.)
VIDEO: More True Blood Stars Accept the #IceBucketChallenge
August 22, 2014
Michael McMillian, Will Yun Lee and EJ Scott Dunk Themselves for Charity:
Recently we posted a video of Joe Manganiello (who played werewolf Alcide Herveaux in HBO’s True Blood) participating in the #IceBucketChallenge in a bid to raise awareness and much needed funds for the ALS Association. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that falls into the motor neurone disease family.
Well, since then, more True Blood stars have risen to accept the challenge! Michael McMillian (who played Reverend – and then vampire – Steve Newlin), Will Yun Lee (who currently plays Mr. Gus in Season 7) and EJ Scott (who is an honorary True Blood member thanks to his girlfriend Deborah Ann Woll) poured a bucket of icy water over their heads too. You can check out the videos of them below.
Oh, and in case you didn’t notice, Lauren Bowles (who plays True Blood’s Holly Cleary) was nominated by Michael McMillian.
Have you donated to the ALS Association yet? If not you can do so by clicking here.
Sources: Instagram – Michael McMillian
Instagram – Will Yun Lee
YouTube – EJ Scott takes the ice bucket (bowl) challenge.
Two Extra True Blood Cast Members Announced for Dragon Con!
August 10, 2014
Nelsan Ellis and Michael McMillian Will Attend Dragon Con 2014:
Recently we announced that True Blood’s Kristin Bauer van Straten (who plays vampire Pam) will be attending this year’s Dragon Con. Well, we can now confirm that there will be two more True Blood stars attending!
Firstly, Nelsan Ellis, who plays the flamboyant Lafayette Reynolds, is the first new guest we can announce. Michael McMillian, who played anti-vampire activist turned gay American vampire is the second new cast member attending.
Dragon Con runs from Friday August 29th through to Monday September 1st 2014 – so you better hurry if you want to attend this fabulous event!
If you want to purchase tickets, of to find out additional information about this event, you can click here.
Source: Dragon Con – website
(Photo Credits: HBO Inc.)
True Blood’s Latest Emmy Nominations
July 26, 2014
Michael McMillian Gets Nominated… But NOT For True Blood!
Recently, HBO’s True Blood scored two Emmy nominations in the following categories:
- Outstanding Art Direction For A Contemporary Or Fantasy Series (Single-Camera)
True Blood
HBO
Suzuki Ingerslev, as Production Designer
Cat Smith, as Art Director
Ron V. Franco, as S.D.S.A.
- Outstanding Stunt Coordination For A Drama Series, Miniseries Or Movie
True Blood
HBO
Hiro Koda, as Stunt Coordinator
While this is pretty awesome, a new nomination has come to air about one of True Blood’s former stars, Michael McMillian (who played newly made gay vampire and ex-reverend, Steve Newlin, who also happens to be the husband of Season 7’s current baddie, Sarah Newlin).
It seems Michael has picked up a nomination for his work as host on HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 4 premiere interactive program:
Outstanding Interactive Program – 2014.
Game of Thrones Premiere – Facebook Live and Instagram – HBO
Sabrina Caluori, HBO/ VP Digital and Social Media; Paul Beddoe-Stephens, Facebook + Instagram/ Strategic Partnerships TV; Jim Marsh, Digital and Social Media/ HBO; Michael McMorrow, HBO/ VP Event Planning and Production; Michael McMillian, Host
Here at TrueBloodNet, we wish Michael McMillian, HBO and True Blood the best of luck in the upcoming Emmy awards!
let us know your thoughts by commenting below.
Source: Emmys.com – Game of Thrones Premiere – Facebook Live and Instagram, True Blood Nominations
(Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)
Happy Birthday Michael McMillian!
October 21, 2013
TrueBloodNet.com would like to wish Michael a very happy birthday! May all your wishes come true!
(Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)
True Blood’s Michael McMillian Says Farewell to Steve Newlin
August 17, 2013
Michael McMillian Talks about the Demise of Steve Newlin:
In a recent interview with Vulture.com, HBO‘s True Blood Michael McMillian(Steve Newlin) reveals his feelings on the departure of Steve Newlin. In Episode 9 of True Blood Steve Newlin meets the sun at the hands of a VERY pissed off Eric. Check out some of my favourite questions here!
“Do you think he was gay, or bisexual? Because there must have been something between him and Sarah at one point.
Yeah, well, Anna Camp and I used to talk about it, and we still do. We think that they still had a bit of a kinky sex life there for a while. I think they married young, and they were both virgins when they got married, and I think she was just trying to keep Steve happy for a long time. I think there was probably some intense dom/sub play going on in the bedroom. I think Sarah was willing to perform certain acts for Steve to keep her husband happy.”
Did you see this coming for Steve? How much advance warning did you get?
Steve was really digging himself into a hole this season. Steve Newlin is the Jabba the Hutt of the True Blood universe. He has a very important place in the mythology, but he’s not going to help Luke Skywalker blow up the Death Star, you know? And especially seeing how the story was going, and Steve taking his place as a villain again and causing so much damage? If you think about it, Luna died because Steve and Russell kidnapped Emma. Pam was outted as Eric’s progeny because of him. Nora dies because of him. And he just wasn’t going to make it through. But Steve really dies at the hands of both Eric and Sarah.”
Who was Steve’s maker? He didn’t know her name …
I’d love to answer the question, but the truth is, I don’t know! And I’m not sure if the show is ever going to answer it or not. At one point, we were going to find out last season, and it was written out in the script, but they scratched it out.”
Check out the entire interview at Vulture.com, click the link below!
Source: Vulture.com-True Blood’s Michael McMillian on Newlin’s Fate
(Photo Credit): HBO.com
R.I.P to True Blood’s Steve Newlin
August 12, 2013
How Will Sarah Newlin Cope?
And so we come to the end of an era. Last night in HBO’s True Blood Season 6, Episode 9, entitled Life Matters, the (former) Reverend Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian) finally met the sun. And is it just me, or are we all going to miss the spineless little turncoat?
While Steve got to meet the sun (which was a sweet iron due to his joy of making vampires meet the sun in Season 2), it was a bitter sweet moment. Steve was the character we all loved to hate after all. Michael McMilllian, however, was just pleased that he managed to make people both sad and happy with his death:
It’s a funny moment in the script. I was checking [Twitter] last night, of course, and I was actually surprised that people thought it was as funny as it was. That made me really happy. And I also got a lot of messages saying that people were sad to see Steve go. So if you can pull off a death that is both sad and hilarious, I think you’ve done your job okay.
As for that last line muttered: “I love you Jason Stackhouse!” That was entirely McMillian’s idea after he was disappointed at there being no Steve and Jason (Ryan Kwanten) action in True Blood’s Season 6.
Considering the fact that Michael McMillian has actually been with True Blood since Season 1, Entertainment Weekly wanted to know if there was any special send-off – especially from Alexander Skarsgard:
He gave me a very personal sendoff in the gag reel, which nobody but cast and crew saw. It was somewhat inappropriate and somewhat hilarious, but beyond that I really can’t describe it too much. [Laughs] There was a little skin involved. Yes.
What we wouldn’t give to see that gag reel, hey Trubies?!
Were you sad to see Steve Newlin die in True Blood Season 6? Or were you glad he’s finally dead? Let us know by commenting below.
If you want to read more about what Michael McMillian thought of Steve Newlin’s death, you can read the full Entertainment Weekly interview here.
Source: Entertainment Weekly – ‘True Blood’: Michael McMillian talks Steve Newlin’s fate, Alexander Skarsgard’s ‘inappropriate’ response
(Photo Credit: HBO Inc./Rachel Tsoumbakos)