Fun? Time of my life. It is really nice to go off and do other things like playing Kate on In Treatment and Susan Metcalfe in Messiah - to play a real person who’s vulnerable and trying to figure things out like we all are is really rewarding.

But with Maryann, no one is having more fun at work than I am. You just can’t believe that you’re getting paid. There were days when we were running around half naked in freezing cold weather, night shoots, 20 hour days sometimes, stunts. It didn’t matter. It was the most fun in the world.

- Why do you think True Blood has gone from strength to strength?

On network television shows, if something doesn’t work in the first 2 or 3 episodes, if they don’t get the numbers they pull it. The vaudeville stick comes out and they’re gone.

The powers that be who head up HBO, they really trust their creators so they give them the room and as much time as they need to tell the stories that they need to tell.

If a storyteller has that freedom then their passion is able to thrive. The show just really found its footing, every episode has got better and better and for whatever reason it’s just found its audience and people have just gone mad for it.

- What sort of response have you had in the US for Maryann?

I've had a few people gasp and step away from me. Which is a little odd. I had one person who started shaking and crying a little bit. I usually try to hug them to remind them that it’s just a TV show and I’m just playing a character.

And then eventually I hear ‘oh you’re so nice I had no idea.’ Also, now, when I go to a party and I don’t instigate an orgy I feel like I’m disappointing everyone! I get ‘Oh, she’s a stick in the mud isn’t she.’

- Is Alan Ball making any comment about faith, or people’s willingness to believe, in the character of Maryann?

One of the writers was on set one day and I asked that question. I said is this a metaphor for religion. She said we’re not preaching. So much about this series is up for interpretation. For me the 2nd season really is about the question of belief systems.

Everybody’s belief systems are challenged in one way or another. We’re so frightened of independent thought that we latch on to group thinking and a pack mentality. True Blood shows how destructive that can be - it can lead to chaos and violence.

We’ve been going through incredible transition in America and people have been questioning their belief systems. People were always so willing to go along with what was happening and we can see where that led us.

I’m not saying that was Alan and the writers’ intentions but as they told the story that’s what I felt as I was watching it. For other people it’s just a bunch of pretty people running round with their clothes off!

- Which of your fellow cast did you most enjoy working with?

One time I was looking at the screen and I was like, ‘We have a Brit, an Aussie, a Dane and a Swede all on screen at the same time,’ which is fantastic. We’re a very tight group. There’s so much love and everybody’s very welcoming - zero ego on that set.

Chris Bauer is an actor that I bow down to. I can’t say enough about Anna [Paquin] and I adore Moyer [Stephen Moyer]. I haven’t worked with Skarsy [Alexander Skarsgard] yet - quite sadly because I think he’s a fascinating actor and Rutina Wesley is a new talent that’s come out of nowhere. And Nelsan Ellis, where the hell did he come from?

- What have been your Maryann highlights in season two?

God there are so many. I have a scene where I come in after a night of ravaging in the woods and I just have a casual conversation with a dead rabbit over my lap. I love that scene so much. And I love the frolicking in the woods and dancing.

I had no idea how bonkers it was going to get towards the end of the series. I can’t imagine I’ll ever play another character like her again! It’s insanely unique.

True Blood: the complete second season is out on Blu-ray and DVD on May 17

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