Ryan Kwanten, the Australian actor who
plays Jason Stackhouse on the HBO supernatural drama True Blood,
believes his character's acceptance of a predatory gay vampire is an
example of how his character has grown.
True Blood, which includes a
number of openly gay and bisexual characters, returned for a fifth
season last week.
[Possible spoiler.] On the premiere of
the new season, Stackhouse is hit on by Steve Newlin, a former pastor
with the Fellowship of the Sun turned vampire. Newlin, who
previously waged war against the vampires of Bon Temps, reveals that
he's gay and infatuated with Stackhouse.
Kwanten said his character's handling
of the revelation shows he's grown.
“When you look at Jason in season 1
he had a very tunnel view of the world and some would say an ignorant
view,” Kwanten told PARADE.com.
“And now, that speech he gave to Newlin was 'Look, I accept who
you are, whether it's a vampire, whether it's a gay man, or both.
But that's not the way this dog barks.' That's a huge step for Jason
to change his spots. … Towards the end of the season, which we are
shooting now, he puts the things he has learned into practice and
starts to show his true colors.”