Deborah Ann Woll: NYDailynews

Deborah Ann Woll sinks her fangs into the new season of "True Blood," starting tonight on HBO. She stars as Jessica Hamby, a teen vampire who struggles with her identity. The Brooklyn-born actress, 25, never had that problem.

"I knew coming out of the womb that [acting] was what I was supposed to do," Woll says. At about 14, she began enrolling in acting programs around the city and at her Brooklyn Heights high school, the Packer Collegiate Institute. It's paid off. Besides "True Blood," Woll has three films in the works.

What can we expect from Jessica this season?

[Producer] Alan Ball has said before that this season is about identity, and I think that's what's happening for Jessica. It's a lot about discovering more about my vampiric nature versus my human nature and what's the right balance for Jessica. Bill [Stephen Moyer] has chosen a very mainstream human kind of existence, and Eric [Alexander Skarsgard] has chosen a very vampire existence. Every member of the undead has to find their own personal [path], And Jessica's working her way through that this season.

There are so many hot guys on "True Blood" — Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgard, to name a few. Do you feel lucky working with them?

You left out Jim Parrack, [who plays her boyfriend, Hoyt Fortenberry], who happens to be my favorite. It's really nice. There are totally worse ways to do your job. Of course, my first and only love is my man, my boyfriend. But they're all sweet guys, too. There's nothing intimidating about them. They're definitely more concerned with doing a good job and being nice and considerate to everyone than looking attractive.

How'd you meet your real boyfriend?

I met him online, actually, on Match.com. We were both living in L.A. at the time and we are both from the New York area, which is pretty cool. We've been dating about 21⁄2 years.

Is it true you watched animal attack footage to prepare to play a vampire?

I did back when I started. The very first situation that I had to portray was being a victim of an attack. That's just something that humans don't experience anymore — we've come out of the woods and we're no longer being hunted. So I wanted to find a way to get that feeling of being hunted and something more powerful than you taking your life. I watched a lot of big cats and crocodiles take down deer and antelope.

What's it like wearing fangs?

We have two sets of fangs. Hard fangs, and then soft fangs, for biting people. They just pop in like a retainer. I think they look great and I'm fairly toothy to begin with. Even before I put my fangs in, my mouth is overpowering. But I like that, because for Jessica to be an awkward teen, it makes sense that she hasn't grown into her fangs yet and she has to learn how to work with them. So I think it's fine if she lisps a little bit.

You filmed a remake of 1980's "Mother's Day," and are working on "Little Murder" and the indie film "Highland Park." What roles are you playing?

"Highland Park" takes place in Detroit and it's about a group of people who win the lottery and try to help their struggling community with that money, but also struggle with it. I got to play a mom in that one. I didn't think I'd be getting to that so soon. And "Little Murder" takes place in Louisiana, post-Katrina. Josh Lucas is a detective and he uses supernatural means to discover the secret to a crime [that] I'm involved in.

You left Park Slope for college in 2003, but come back to visit your parents and the family dog. What do you miss most about Brooklyn?

I miss the neighborhood and the character of New York. In L.A., since you drive your car to your front door and then get back in it at your front door to leave, you never walk past anybody else's house. There are just not as many opportunities to create a community in L.A. I miss that the most about New York — that neighborly, pleasant quality.