Interview WIth Actress Stephanie Erb Best Known For True Blood, The Ring, Weeds, & Many More

Interview Done By Mike Wilkerson

MW: Please introduce yourself?
SE: Hi – I am Stephanie Erb – nice to meet you!

MW: How did you get into acting?
SE: I think I first “caught” the acting bug when I was 8 years old. I was flipping around the considerably fewer channels one had to choose from, and ended up on PBS. Laurence Olivier’s HAMLET was on and I was transfixed. Although at times the language was not familiar, I understood everything Olivier was going through and was mesmerized. I thought “I want to do that!!” Although I pursued degrees to be a doctor, I changed my mind in college and decided I should pursue my real dream. I did not want to have dropped that pursuit due to FEAR. I had always been told I should be a doctor or lawyer (I was a smart girl) but deep down, the acting thing made me the happiest.

MW: Your first movie role was in Fearless please tell me about it?
SE: FEAR seems to be a theme here! I was lucky enough to be chosen out of obscurity by Peter Weir to play Lisa, the beleaguered and young flight attendant in the movie FEARLESS with Jeff Bridges. I had never auditioned for a movie before and was truly worried I would be speechless and clumsy, especially when meeting Mr. Weir (a longtime hero) himself. I managed to audition for three very different parts and somehow interested Mr Weir. Back then, writing letters to directors seemed to have an effect, and I did just that, without thinking my letter would be thrown away or disregarded. I truly never expected to get cast though, and the experience was amazing.

On the set of FEARLESS, the actors were all so supportive – -especially Mr. Bridges, Mr. Turturro, and many of my fellow passengers (some of whom have gone on to stellar careers, like Rondi Reed). I remember Mr. Bridges being the kindest of souls. I fell on him a couple of times during “turbulence” and he would always check to make sure that I was ok. And in the HUGE shots with smoke, mud, water, stuntmen and chaos, I do remember a background actor got something in his eye, and Jeff stopped the shoot to make sure he was alright. It is that kind of humanity I experienced on the movie, and I will never forget it. Certainly, it trickled from the top down, as Mr. Weir is a gem – both an artist and a humanitarian.

MW: What was your favorite TV series to have a guest role on?
SE: Ah, it is hard to pick! I was very excited to be on STAR TREK, having been a Trekkie since I was a kid. Had fun with my friend Jon Cryer on 2.5 MEN. Loved my wacky character on WEEDS. Most of the time, I try to love SOMETHING about each role I play. If the cast and crew are great, then that is icing on the cake. TRUE BLOOD has a great crew, a great creator, and lots of fake blood — not to mention delicious catering!

MW: Tell me about being in Starship Troopers?
SE: My role was of a young teacher urging her students to HATE BUGS, since bugs were the evil aliens that were threatening the world of the film. Mostly I remember that they had fake bugs, mixed in with real ones, and we were to only squish the fake ones. NOT AN EASY FEAT. And speaking of feet, my shoes had to be scraped off a time or two. Ew.

MW: What do remember most about being in Lucky Numbers?
SE: I immediately liked Nora Ephron, for one thing. She seemed really down to earth. The other thing was that Maria Bamford was added into some scenes and was allowed to riff on anything she wanted to and was hilarious. She has since gone on to be quite a voiceover artist and standup, I do believe.

MW: You were in The Ring did the movie freak you out when you read the script?
SE: I am not freaked out by many scripts when I read them. GAME OF THRONES novels started to freak me out, when I got to the fourth one and realized beheadings were starting to show up in my dreams. Mostly, I just liked my geeky tech character in the script and was so grateful to have booked it.

MW: How was it being a part of The Ring?
SE: Gore Verbinski is a smart and funny man. Heck, I would love to work with him again. He let me mess around with the scenes with Naomi and give them a bit of a lesbian twist, although the alternate version did not make it into the film. I loved that they made me look so very nerdy and grungy. One of my favorite “looks” in a role!

MW: Give me a story from Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny?
SE: Haha. I smile even thinking about that shoot. The fun part was getting to work AND hear Jack and Kyle play and improv day after day. Plus, I knew a bunch of the bar attendees, because we had all known each other from a theatre group called the Actor’s Gang in LA. I had been a Tenacious D fan from their earliest of days, so it was amazing to participate. I still listen to that soundtrack to this day and smile some more.

MW: How did you get the part of Luellen on True Blood?
SE: I had worked with Alan Ball on SIX FEET UNDER (a pretty funny episode!) and let him know I wanted to be on TRUE BLOOD. When I had contacted him, I had no idea they had to cast a coven of witches soon thereafter. That was lucky timing!

MW: What do you remember most about being Luellen?
SE: Since the witches were more of a “group” than extremely delineated individuals, we got to hang a lot with our fellow witches. I am friends with some of them to this day. As I said above, the people and the food were fabulous! A special shout out to Audrey Fisher in wardrobe – an amazing artiste!

MW: Do you have a lot of True Blood fans that reach out to you?
SE: I think the TB fans are great. At the premiere, I loved talking to them on the red carpet and I love when I get fan mail from them. I do think TB increased my fan base considerably (that and STAR TREK), and I have found them to be ardent and appreciative folks. My character didn’t die a horrible death, so maybe LUELLEN could come back to poorly concoct a spell someday!

MW: Would you want to a TV show like The Walking Dead?

SE: I would absolutely love it. I think my future career is in being a badass in some way.

MW: What do you have going on in the future?
SE: Right now, I am shooting a film called MISCHIEF NIGHT, followed by one called DO NOT DUPLICATE, and then another called THE LADY KILLERS. Who knows where they will lead – I just hope they are all good stuff! Also, many theatre possibilities in the future…

MW: What conventions will you be signing at in 2013?
SE: I am not sure yet. I do know I will be hosting an event in honor of THE CARES FOUNDATION on May 4th, and I will be in Alaska for a fashion event in June with Rick Mora.

MW: What would you like to say in closing?
SE: I love the fans, I love the work, and hope the people keep watching! Thanks so much, Mike.