Just who is Nan Flanagan? She is the face of the American Vampire League on HBO’s True Blood and she’s got her work cut out for her as she battles a PR war to win back the appeal of the human public after Russell Edgington’s (Denis O’Hare) horrific de-spining of a human television anchorman during a live broadcast.
Jessica Tuck, who plays Nan as a series regular this fourth season, revealed insights behind Nan and the American Vampire League in an interview with EW. Check out these excerpts from that interview.
[Above: Jessica Tuck as Nan Flanagan]
Q: OK, so what is a post-Russell Edgington world?
Jessica Tuck: We have to regain the trust of the human population and just make people understand that Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare) was truly one bad apple and that all vampires are not like that. It is possible for us all to be mainstreamed. It’s a world that is not as trusting as it was before. We have to make up some ground that we lost. It’s safe, Russell Edgington has disappeared, and we can all move forward from it.
Q: Is she prominent in the books?
Jessica Tuck: No, no, no, not at all. And originally I was supposed to [only] be in a couple of episodes at the beginning. I feel so fortunate that the writers have woven her into the existing storylines. That’s the thing, there is no Nan in the books.
Q: And what is her past or current relationship with the main vamps we know best, like Bill, Eric and Pam?
Jessica Tuck: You will definitely in season four find out how she is worked into everything. But I would be slapped on the hand if I revealed the tiny specifics that I do know.
Q: Does Nan consider Bill, Eric and Pam to be reliable allies or is their relationship more adversarial?
Jessica Tuck: I think for Nan it’s—what’s that expression?—”her way or the highway.” I think she likes to have things go her way. I don’t know that she’s necessarily very flexible. When the vampires do what she wants them to do she’s very happy and when someone strays from the plan, she’s less than happy about that. At times she feels like she’s working with these vampires, and sometimes she feels likes she’s working against them.
Q: Do we know where Nan falls in the vampire hierarchy or how old she is?
Jessica Tuck: To be honest I don’t know how old I am. But I will tell you this, I would think that in Nan’s case it’s more—she said in that episode when they were all in Texas, she says to Eric, “I’m on TV. I’m powerful.” I think her persona and what she represents is as much her power as anything, but you never know.
Q: And what does Nan losing control look like?
Jessica Tuck: She does get angry, she uses the F-word quite a lot. [Laughs.] You can tell I’m a mother, can’t you? I call it the F-word. Nan has a temper, she likes to have things done her way, and she’s not afraid to bark out an order and scream and yell. That’s sort of the way she loses her cool. It’s such a contrast to her controlled self, her on-camera self, which seems very approachable and reasonable. She will unleash if needed.
Q: What’s the main thing to look forward to from Nan this year?
Jessica Tuck: I spend a lot more time out from behind the camera, [dropping] my spokesperson personality. I’m much more the Nan everyone loves to hate. I spend a lot more time in my black leather than I do my nice suits. Let’s put it that way.
True Blood: Russell’s Shining Television Moment
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH05PBuldhY[/youtube]
True Blood premieres on HBO, June 26, 2011 at 9/8 C.
