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Alexander Skarsgård goes Commando on True Blood

By April MacIntyre Aug 18, 2010, 19:10 GMT

Commando Alexander Skarsgard, and sheathed Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. The main article discusses the HBO series and how sex and vampires are the central theme of the show. EPA/ROLLING STONE

Alexander Skarsgård is cast as Eric Northman on HBO's True Blood.

Eric is a thousand-year old former Viking prince whose family was slaughtered by werewolves, directed to kill by a vampire named Russell (Denis O'Hare).

Alexander is one of the three featured naked on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.  He flanks real-life engaged couple Anna Paquin (Sookie) and Stephen Moyer (Bill) in a bloody, naked pose.

Swedish Alexander reveals he goes sock-free on his privates and is completely nekkid in his sex scenes with cast members.

"I don't want a sock around it, that feels ridiculous. If we’re naked in the scene, then I’m naked. I’ve always been that way."

Not so for Anna Paquin who wears a Merkin for her sex scenes as her character Sookie Stackhouse, being pursued by both Bill and Eric this season.

Stephen Moyer also wears a penis sheath sock on set for his scenes that involve nudity. "I've got nothing to hide," he says. "I just think it might be embarrassing for the crew."

Alan Ball has little patience for teen angst Vampire tales like "Twilight,"

He tells Rolling Stone: "To me, vampires are sex," he says. "I don't get a vampire story about abstinence. I'm 53. I don't care about high school students. I find them irritating and uninformed."