There’s a fun new interview out today with the actress who plays Tara in HBO’s True Blood.

Rutina Wesley discusses what her character will be like throughout this latest season, and whether or not the actor who plays Lafayette calls her a “hooker” off screen as much as he does on screen.

From Vulture:

[Spoiler alert.] When producer Alan Ball said a character was coming out, everyone assumed it would be Jason. Were you surprised it was Tara?
It makes sense to me. I don’t think it’s all of a sudden her coming out. She’s a little more stable and calmer [this season], and the next thing she knew, love was in the air. She didn’t really know what to do with it, but to go with it.

Will anything this season disrupt her calm?
I think Tara’s always gonna be Tara. She’s always gonna be feisty. She’s very sassy, which I love. Tara is the voice of reason at times, because she just tells it like it is. She has learned to handle things in a different way, but she is gonna get caught up in things that are going to challenge her. There’s gonna be lots of tension. There’s definitely drama.

You have many scenes with Nelsan Ellis, who plays Lafayette. What is your relationship like?
We went to school together at Juilliard, so we’re actually very close. Coming on this show and getting the chance to work with someone that you know is such a plus. The connection you see is real. We actually really enjoy each other’s company — and he keeps me on my toes.

Does he get to call you “hooker” off-camera?
Oh, he calls me “Rutini.” [Laughs.] He actually made [“hooker”] up. I don’t think that was in the script. He just said it one time to me. And that’s why I was like, [in Tara’s voice] “You got one more time to call me ‘hooker’! You got one mo’, one mo’!” So it just became this running joke between us. He says it so well. It kind of just rolls off his tongue.

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