A Day in The Night of Moonlight

It is a cliche Los Angeles day—sunny, breezy, 76 degrees. Not exactly the kind of weather you expect when hanging out with vampires in a morgue. But that is what I got when I went to visit the set of Moonlight, the new CBS drama that reinvents the vampire mythology. Alex O'Loughlin stars as Mick St. John, a vampire who lives as a mortal private detective. He resists his natural urge to drink blood straight from the vein, and instead subsists on blood bank withdrawals. "It's like watching an alcoholic trying not to fall off the wagon," Alex tells me.

His counterpart on the show is Beth, a journalist, played by Sophia Myles. There is a definite sexual tension there, but as Sophia says, "I think the show is over the moment they get together." The two have a natural camaraderie, perhaps stemming from the fact that they are both foreigners, he from Australia; she from England. "It's comforting," Sophia admits.

Rounding out the cast is Shannyn Sossamon, who plays Coraline, Mick's ex-wife - and the vampire who turned him.

The day starts not at the morgue, but on a soundstage. Moonlight star Jason Dohring is showing me around the sets on the Warner Bros. lot. Jason plays Josef, one of the oldest vampires on the show, and one of the few who know Mick as a vampire. "I can't decide if my character is good or evil," Jason muses as we tour his character's imposing office. "I prefer to think of it not as black or white, but 'dark grey.'" His office, with its warrior wall carvings and shadowy paintings of a woman in purple ("She looks like Coraline, don't you think?" asks Jason) leans towards very dark grey indeed.

We then hit up Mick's apartment, and I immediately take decor notes. With dark wood and clean lines, Mick's home is the ultimate brooding bachelor pad. And not a coffin in sight.

I ask Jason what it's like working with Alex. "It's unreal," he says. "I keep thinking I will show up to work one day and he will realize he is the star and turn into a snob, but that just doesn't happen." Jason, Alex, and Sophia are pretty chummy, and enjoy a cigar break together between takes.

It's time now to head over to the props truck where I get to become a vampire. Okay, not really, but I do get to drink production blood. No one can (or will) tell me what is in it, but I drink it down bravely. It tastes like a syrupy berry-pomegranate concoction. Not bad, but might benefit from some vodka.

Article Author: Alyse Wax

Alyse is a television producer by day, fashion writer by night. She can't choose between the two, so she simply doesn't sleep. You can read more articles at SporkFashion.com

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