HBO’s “True Blood” returned last night and Alexander Skarsgard‘s role as vampire sheriff Eric Northman will be directly involved in the story arc this season.

Thanks to a coven of witches, Northman has lost his memory and is forced to rely on Sookie (Anna Paquin), and the actor couldn’t be happier with the turn of events.

“I was excited. It was quite different from what we’ve seen before. It’s been difficult because he doesn’t … it was difficult finding the right tone. He doesn’t know who he is, so all that baggage is gone, 1,000 years of resentment and bitterness, the whole, like, loathing humanity kind of stuff is gone. But there has to be an element of danger there still. I didn’t want him to become too much of a little puppy. It was about finding that balance, because he has to be extremely vulnerable now,” Skarsgard says.

He also enjoyed trying out his comedic skills throughout the first few episodes. “I had fun with it. It was just important to make it real. The humor had to come out of the situations more than him trying to be funny.”

Skarsgard says he knows how unique the bond between the cast is and counts himself very lucky to be a part of this series. “They’re really good people, the whole cast, I love working with them. I think anyone who’s ever been on the “True Blood” set will agree, you can just feel the energy. It always sounds so cheesy when actors sit and say, “Oh, we love each other,” but I don’t know what else to say. The atmosphere is so great and so loving and so generous. We spend so much time together — I’ve heard horror stories on other shows where people don’t get along or have fun together. Man, if you work 60 to 70 hours a week together, you want to have a good time.”

via latimes.com