Any fair-weather viewer of True Blood knows that death is par for the course on the HBO supernatural drama. Over the past six seasons, weve bid both tearful and joyful farewells to characters like Adele Stackhouse, Maryann Forester, Roman Zimojic, Russell Edgington, Jesus Velasquez, Truman Burrell and countless more. But saying goodbye to stalwart Bon Temps presence Terry Bellefleur was a tough one for Truebies, even though weve had plenty of warnings that a principal character wouldnt survive this season.
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Terrys inability to reconcile his guilt over murdering his Marines superior Sgt. Patrick Devins (Scott Foley) last season (which allowed him to vanquish the Ifrit smoke monster that had been terrorizing him and his family) resulted in his setting up his own suicide courtesy of a fellow Marine from basic training. But Terry hadnt counted on his loving wife and Merlottes coworker, Arlene, having a vampire glamour him into forgetting his sordid history with the Marines before he could call off the hit he had placed on himself. So on the last day of his life, Terry was at peace, happy with his family and with his job, and thats what made his death so tragic. Unlike most killings on True Blood, which come and go with a blood splatter and without repercussions, Terrys demise was a real sobfest as Arlene cradled his body and sang her husband a lullaby as he drew his final breaths.
The morning after Dont You Feel Me aired, Rolling Stone took a call from Todd Lowe in Los Angeles, who didnt hold back his sadness over saying goodbye to Terry Bellefleur.
Hi Todd good to talk to you again. Sorry it has to be under such sad circumstances.
You know, Im kind of coming out of that funk myself. But its a new day.
When did you find out this was the way your characters storyline was headed?
I found out at the beginning [of the season], when we just started shooting. I guess it was in late January. I got a call from my rep because I was driving, and I hadnt read or auditioned for anything recently, so I was like, I wonder what this call is. Then Brian Buckner, the new showrunner, took me out for a drink and told me how [Terrys] going to go out. It made good sense. It was the right time. I was happy to die for the good of the many and for the good of the show. And I think it was impactful. I watched the episode last night, and I got emotional again. I was emotional when I first heard about it, I was emotional at the table read, I was emotional when we shot it. And now, I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my back. I can focus now on another project.
I thought the final scene between you and Carrie Preston (Arlene) was perfect. I really like how Terry died in peace. It was a real honor to the character because hes been there since the beginning.
You know, what I was the most flattered about is that they kept announcing at the beginning of the season that a major character was going to die. Like, Oh, wow, theyre considering me a major character. Thats flattering, if not a bit misleading. But it felt good to be included as that. I never really saw myself as that, but I guess Terry had gotten bigger through the years, and kind of played his storyline out, and it was the right time to go.
Were you bummed that you didnt get to go out in a blaze of blood and guts and gore like most True Blood characters?
No. Im a little bummed that I have to leave the party early. But Im still friends with everyone in the cast and a lot of people on the crew. You work on a show for six years, and anytime youre an actor when a play closes its run, theres postpartum depression there. So Im bummed mainly that I dont get to work with all these great people anymore on this project.
But at the same time, you are now part of an elite group of actors whose characters have been killed on the show. Is there a support group out there? You, Denis OHare, Scott Foley, Arliss Howard, Christopher Meloni all of you need to get together and go for drinks.
[Laughs] Yeah, Ill find them on Twitter, and Ill be the one to suggest that.
Was there a send-off party, not just for you, but for Arliss Howard [Gov. Burrell] as well?
Well, Arliss was kind of a quick member. I mean, he came in and out. I didnt even realize, because I was just so focused on myself, that he died in this episode. When we had the table read and we read that scene [where Terry is killed], there was five steady minutes of applause, I guess as an ovation to my character. And meanwhile, Gov. Burrell goes out, and he didnt get that applause. But he hadnt had time to really establish himself in the world of the show. But there was a little bit of a ceremony on my last day of shooting. They surprised me with a red-velvet armadillo cake because my character has a pet armadillo. I dont know who the baker was that made it, but it was incredibly realistic-looking. Unappetizing to the eye, but delicious.
I chatted with Brian Buckner before the start of the season, and he spoke at length about how important it was to him that the lives of the Bon Temps residents be honored regardless of the shows tendency for bloodshed. So is it safe to assume that Terrys memory is going to live on in the upcoming episodes?
Yes, its going to. Theyre going to have to deal with the funeral, and thats a good plot device to bring people back to Bon Temps. And then if everybody is congregated in Bon Temps, hmm. . . what could happen?
More human-vampire war, perhaps? And whats it going to be like for Arlene now? Because one of the lines that stuck out for me Sunday night was when she said, My life just dont work without that man.
I cant go into too much detail about whats gonna happen. I do know that that safety-deposit box is gonna play a factor. Thats pretty much what you can gather from watching it.
Any chance that we havent seen the last of Terry? I mean, Lafayettes a medium, and the ghost of Jesus has come back, the ghost of Adele Stackhouse has come back, so. . .
Yeah, thats up out there for the writers to decide. I cant speak too much on it. But sure, Id love to come back. My fear, though, is Lafayette would channel me and he would get to play Terry and I dont even make an appearance.
Well, usually when that happens, they have the spirit flashing before him, so Id like to think that well at least get to see you again. So you talked about wanting to focus on new projects do you have anything coming up?
Unfortunately, this really it took its toll on me emotionally, for the last seven months having to plan my suicide. Now Ive put on a little weight and I got out of shape and its like, Ugh, I gotta get myself back into shape and find another job. But fortunately Ive been on the show a while, saved a little bit of money. I dont have to run into some project that Im not that excited about, so I can afford to be picky for a little bit and wait for the right thing to come down the pike.
And when we talked last summer, we chatted at length about your band L.A. Hootenanny. Is that still a thing?
Thats still going on. Were on a little hiatus for this month of July and were coming back in August so we finally finished the last three tracks on our little record and well put that out.