Ellington

Years ago, on a farm in Eastern Washington, a young Mariana Klaveno, who now plays vampire Lorena on HBO’s popular vampire series True Blood, was creating screenplays in her head, acting them out alone in her bedroom. With no outlet for her acting talents, due to a small school without any art programs, this was the only way she could practice for what she planned to do in the future.

“I kind of always knew I wanted to act, but I was pretty secretive about it because it was so out of the realm of possibilities where I grew up,” Klaveno said. “I don’t know anyone who went to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I was a little embarrassed about it [at the time].”

Though she enjoyed living in Eastern Washington, she knew it was time to move onto a bigger city with more opportunities for success in acting. With two brothers and a quality theater school at the UW, Klaveno knew what her choice would be, and by her sophomore year as a Husky, she was a “drama major in earnest.”

“I got to do some really off-the-wall, absurdist pieces, and I also got a lot of classical pieces under my belt,” she said. “That’s stuff that you don’t get to do a lot once you move out into the world.”

The world she speaks of is Los Angeles — the atmosphere of which “cannot be replicated,” she said.

“It’s a very fascinating place, and I’ve learned to really love it. It’s endlessly amusing, but it’s kind of a circus in a lot of ways,” she said, laughing. “It’s a unique, eccentric place to live, but especially when you’re going into Hollywood, it can be very scary and overwhelming.”

Klaveno, however, was almost shockingly level-headed about the change. Even through the second season of True Blood, the budding actress kept a job as a hostess — just in case.

“I didn’t want to feel desperate or feel like I had to depend so much on any one job that if it ended then I wouldn’t have any income to live off of,” she said.

Though she eventually decided to quit because it was interfering with her job on set, this practicality was what got her through many years in L.A., along with support from those around her.

“I think everyone there is either trying to be a musician or trying to be a writer or an actor, which is wonderful, actually,” she said. “You can vent to each other and commiserate and lean on each other.”

After doing a variety of cameos and one-episode acting jobs, Klaveno finally received the call from her agent, telling her that she would be a series regular on True Blood.

“It was incredible,” she said. “I still remember the phone call. I was in Whole Foods, at the salad bar, and my manager called. It was a good day. It was very exciting. I wasn’t expecting it, either.”

While reading the books on which the series is based helped her understand the style and character of Lorena, Klaveno said that costumes are what really make her get into character.

“The great thing about my character is that she’s so glamorous, and I feel like once I’ve gone through hair and makeup and put my costume on — which is always some glorious and beautiful ensemble — 85 percent of the work is already done,” she said. “I’ve always been like that. Costumes have always helped inform me.”

She claims Lorena’s personality is not very reflective of her own.

“I always like to say that playing characters is in her vein as an actor, you get the shadow, you get to play that side of yourself that never gets to come out,” she said. “And thank goodness, or else you’d probably be in jail.”

As for next season, Klaveno revealed some clues about what viewers can expect, including werewolves and more scenes between Lorena and Bill.

“As far as my character goes, I’m hoping that people get to see a few new sides of Lorena and that they’re surprised by her,” she said.

As a former UW theater student, Klaveno is in the prime spot to give advice to aspiring UW actors and actresses on how to “make it big.”

“Don’t worry about the big bad world until you have to get into it,” she said. “If you love what you do, then you should follow it. There may be dark years in there, but if you’re committed to it, then you should follow through.”

Reach reporter Kristen Steenbeeke at weekender@dailyuw.com.