Actress Take a Serious Turn

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Actress Take a Serious Turn

When Carrie Preston was cast as Arlene Fowler in HBO's "True Blood," she knew she was there to provide the comic relief.

For the entire first season of the vampire series, she did that masterfully, but come the season finale, all that changed.

Much of the first season, in addition to dealing with vampire blood lust, shape-shifting, and the like, was a murder mystery.

Preston's character was a key plotpoint, which led to an emotional moment for the actress.

She was pleased to bring the "gravitas" to the situation. The second season has given her a lot more drama to work with.

Preston says she is working hard to "the tragedy that comes in humor and the humor that is in tragedy."

She's no stranger to comic and quirky parts. She's appeared in shows like "Wonderfalls" and "Arrested Development."

She also played the mother of Benjamin Linus, played by Michael Emerson on "Lost." The role was her idea.

Emerson is Preston's husband. She likes that her guest spot was so closely connected to her husband's character.

There's not a lot of sharing in the Preston-Emerson household, though. More specifically, Emerson enjoys hearing "spoilers" from "True Blood."

Preston doesn't want to hear any details from "Lost" before they're revealed on the show.

Preston also likes how different her character on "True Blood" is from herself. She said when Emerson came to the set, he couldn't stop staring at her in makeup.

"I think Michael has a little crush on Arlene," she says.

Gina Wilhelm Actress