The star of HBO’s True Blood, Stephen Moyer, graces the cover of the July/August issue of Men’s Health (on newsstands June 28) and opens up about getting in shape for the new season of the show (premiering June 26) and his romance with wife and co-star Anna Paquin:
Stephen on meeting his costar and future wife, Anna Paquin: “I was intrigued by her. She was very open about work. But she was withdrawn [personally]. I was like, ‘Here I am, here’s everything I got.’ I remember leaving the screen test and thinking, God, I’d like to spend more time with her. I remember getting back to London [after the pilot] and just going, ‘I have to keep speaking to this person.’ We began speaking every night on Skype for 2 or 3 hours.”
On persistence at the gym: “There’s no immediate payoff. Sometimes it feels like it’s taking forever to see results. It takes commitment and time, but when you start to see results—when you feel a bit leaner or you’re doing more reps—you start to think, Wow, I can see a difference! And it’s palpable. I recommend it.”
On his true fitness personality: “I’m an English boy. I played a lot of sports growing up, but I never had any kind of workout regimen. My working out was with my right arm and it involved a pint glass.”
On having a trainer: “I find that I don’t go at it if I don’t have someone making me. You’d be amazed at how quickly I let it all go. I think half of what a trainer does is make you feel shame if you don’t show up.”
Why he goes to the gym: “I didn’t want my kids to look back at the show in 20 years’ time and go, ‘Who’s that slobby git? Oh, it’s you, Dad.'”
On his True Blood co-star, Ryan Kwanten: “[Kwanten’s character] walks into a room and takes his shirt off. That’s his normal entrance. Ryan has minus 6 percent body fat.”
On the value of stillness: “[The actors] who go into the room and don’t do anything are the ones who turn people’s heads. Might not be able to act for shit, but they’re the ones people are interested in. They want enigmatic.”
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