By Megan Riedlinger
7:00pm PDT, Jul 26, 2022
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It's hard to believe we met Sookie, Bill, Eric and the gang in Bon Temps, Louisiana, nearly 15 years ago! In honor of "True Blood" star Anna Paquin's 40th birthday on July 24, 2022, Wonderwall.com is checking up on the cast to find out what they're up to now!
Keep reading to see what Anna and her "True Blood" co-stars have been up to since starring on the hit series…
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Anna Paquin brought protagonist Sookie Stackhouse to life on "True Blood." The telepathic waitress, who later discovers she's part faerie, is intrigued by the mysterious Bill Compton, especially after she discovers she can't read his mind.
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Since "True Blood" wrapped in 2014, Anna Paquin has stayed busy in Hollywood. She reprised her "X-Men" role of Rogue in the 2014 installment "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and lent her voice to the Disney-Pixar flick "The Good Dinosaur" the following year. 2015 also saw Anna head back to the small screen for the miniseries "Roots" alongside Laurence Fishburne and Forest Whitaker and in 2017, she starred in the acclaimed Netflix miniseries "Alias Grace." In 2018, she collaborated with her husband and "True Blood" co-star Stephen Moyer on his directorial debut, "The Parting Glass." In addition to appearing on "The Affair," Anna landed the starring role on the comedy-drama series "Flack." In 2021, she was on an episode of Amazon Prime Video's rom-com anthology series "Modern Love." Anna and Stephen are still happily married in real life and live in Los Angeles with their twins, Charlie and Poppy.
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Stephen Moyer played lovable bloodsucker Bill Compton. His character, a former Confederate soldier who was turned into a vampire at the end of the Civil War, falls hard for Sookie.
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Since "True Blood," Stephen Moyer has kept very busy. He starred as Pontius Pilate in the TV movie "Killing Jesus" and followed that up with a role on the FX show "The Bastard Executioner." In 2016, he took on a film role in "Detour" and in 2017 acted in "The Hatton Garden Job." From 2017 to 2019, he starred on the hit FOX series "The Gifted," which is loosely based on wife Anna Paquin's "X-Men" movie franchise. He also landed a role on the thriller series "Fortunate Son" in 2020 and appeared in the romantic-drama movie "After We Fell" in 2021. He and Anna are happily married and raising twins Charlie and Poppy. Stephen is also a dad to two older kids from previous relationships.
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The show's resident shape shifter, Sam Merlotte, was played by Sam Trammell. His character also owns the show's main hangout, Merlotte's.
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Sam Trammell picked up roles on shows like "Training Day" and "Berlin Station" after "True Blood" wound down and appeared on a handful of "This Is Us" episodes in 2017. He more recently enjoyed a stint on "Homeland" in 2020, starred on "The Order" from 2019 to 2020 and appeared on "Generation" in 2021. He also made a big-screen appearance as Hazel's dad, Michael, in the 2014 flick "The Fault in Our Stars." Sam has been with longtime partner Missy Yager since 2003. They have twin boys, Gus and Winston.
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Rutina Wesley played Tara Thornton, Sookie's best friend since childhood who's also the troubled but no-nonsense bartender at Merlotte's.
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From "True Blood" to "Hannibal"! Rutina Wesley landed the role of Reba on the horror-thriller TV series in 2015. The following year, she scored her most recent role, Nova on OWN's "Queen Sugar." She came out on Instagram in 2017 while revealing that she was newly engaged to a New Orleans-based chef Shonda Cross. They reportedly split in 2019.
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Ryan Kwanten played Sookie's protective and promiscuous brother, Jason Stackhouse. The easy-on-the-eyes road crew worker isn't very bright, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his very active love life.
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After "True Blood" ended, Australian actor Ryan Kwanten — who spoke in an incredibly believable Louisiana drawl on "True Blood" despite his Down Under roots — moved into voice work. He's lent his voice to characters on the show "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" and "Apollo Gauntlet" as well as the film "Blinky Bill." In addition to having starred on "The Oath," Ryan — like "True Blood" co-star Kristin Bauer van Straten — appeared on the second season of "Sacred Lies." In 2021, he starred on the horror-thriller series "Them." Off screen, Ryan is in a relationship with longtime girlfriend Ashley Sisino.
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Beloved character Lafayette Reynolds was played by Nelsan Ellis. Merlotte's resident cook — who later learns he's a medium — also dabbled in drug and vampire blood dealing.
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Nelsan Ellis followed up "True Blood" with "The Stanford Prison Experiment" in 2015. He also appeared in the films "Little Boxes" in 2016 and "Roxanne Roxanne" in 2017. He returned to the small screen in 2016 on the CBS series "Elementary" and made his final appearance on screen in 2017's "True to the Game." The quietly troubled actor tragically died of heart failure at 39 in July 2017 due to alcohol withdrawal complications.
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Alexander Skarsgard had one thing in common with his "True Blood" character — they're both Swedish! The actor took on the role of Eric Northman, an ancient Viking warrior-turned-vampire sheriff in Sookie's neck of the Louisiana woods who also owns the vampire bar Fangtasia.
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After "True Blood" ended, Alexander Skarsgard swung over to the big screen for a starring role in "The Legend of Tarzan" opposite Margot Robbie. The same year, he appeared in "Zoolander 2." He then moved on to another huge HBO show in 2017 — "Big Little Lies" — starring as Nicole Kidman's character's abusive husband, a performance that earned him an Emmy, a SAG Award and a Golden Globe. Alexander's success has only increased in recent years: He appeared in the 2019 romantic comedy "Long Shot," had a starring role on the 2020 Stephen King miniseries "The Stand," appeared in a handful of episodes of "Succession" in 2021 and starred in the buzzy Robert Eggers epic "The Northman" in 2022. As for the Swedish star's love life? He was previously linked to Alexa Chung and Charlize Theron and in recent years, rumors have claimed he welcomed a baby in 2022 with Swedish director Tuva Novotny.
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Kristin Bauer played fan-favorite vampire Pam, Eric's quick-witted but lazy assistant who helps run Fangtasia. Eric turned Pam, a former San Francisco brothel madame, into his bloodsucking progeny more than a century earlier.
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Kristin Bauer restyled herself as Kristin Bauer van Straten in 2009 after marrying South African musician Abri Van Straten. The actress — who many might also remember as Jerry's girlfriend with "man hands" on "Seinfeld" — started pulling double duty as the HBO fantasy show wound down, also taking on the role of Maleficent on ABC's fairy-tale drama "Once Upon a Time" from 2011 to 2015. A year later, she appeared in "Nocturnal Animals" and in 2018, Kristin — a devoted animal rights activist — popped up in the Netflix comedy "Happy Anniversary." In 2020, she appeared on the second season of Peacock's "Sacred Lies."
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Carrie Preston brought Merlotte's waitress Arlene Fowler to life. The single mom, who openly hates vampires at the start of the series, instantly disapproves of co-worker Sookie's relationship with Bill.
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After "True Blood," Carrie Preston landed a role on the NBC comedy "Crowded" and continued to reprise her role as a quirky lawyer on CBS's "The Good Wife" then joined its spinoff, "The Good Fight." From 2017 to 2022, she starred on the TNT series "Claws." She's been married to actor Michael Emerson since 1998.
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Chris Bauer took on the role of the town's bumbling police detective-turned-sheriff, Andy Bellefleur, seen here with character Sam Merlotte.
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Chris Bauer is a busy man! The actor has worked nonstop since ditching his "True Blood" badge in 2014, logging appearances on "American Crime Story," "Survivor's Remorse," "The Deuce," "Modern Family" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." In 2021, he landed a role on the Starz drama "Heels" and in 2022, he appeared on another Starz series, the political thriller "Gaslit." He's been married to Laura Bauer, with whom he shares kids Beau and Mercy, since 1997.
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Deborah Ann Woll played Jessica Hamby, a teen raised in a strict Christian household who Bill is forced to turn into a new vampire.
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Deborah Ann Woll starred in a few films after production on "True Blood" wrapped, like 2015's "The Automatic Hate" and "Forever." In 2017, she joined the cast of the Marvel series "The Punisher" as Karen Page, a character she previously played on "Daredevil." She more recently appeared in the 2021 indie film "Ida Red" alongside Josh Hartnett. Deborah married longtime love EJ Scott in 2018. For years, the couple have worked as activists seeking to raise money to fund research into treatments and a cure for the eye disease Choroideremia (CHM), which is causing EJ to lose his eyesight.
