Lindsay Pulisher : The Salt Lake Tribune

It was seeing the movie “Annie” at age 8 that got Utah actor Lindsay Pulsipher dreaming about becoming a star.

Some 20 years later, the former Cottonwood Heights resident has made it in Hollywood — though she’s not belting out another version of “Tomorrow.” Instead, she will be surrounded by bloodthirsty vampires in the new season of HBO’s hit horror series “True Blood,” where she will be a regular cast member for at least nine episodes. The new third season began June 13 on the pay cable network.

But it’s not until Sunday’s second episode that Pulsipher makes her first appearance as the mysterious Crystal Norris, a woman who becomes the new girlfriend of Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten).

“The writers are really focusing on the relationship between Crystal and Jason,” she said from Los Angeles. “Up to this point, he has never settled down, and I think she really knocks him off his feet. They have this magical relationship, and it’s brand new for both of them. It’s kind of a powerful, explosive relationship.”

It’s also one that could get explicit; the show has earned a reputation for sexuality and graphic bloody scenes. But Pulsipher said producers have been understanding and let her use a body double when called for.

“I kind of knew that the show is very sexually driven, especially Jason’s character,” she said. “They did tell me that they would never ask me to do something I wasn’t comfortable with. But I trust them and I knew they wouldn’t ask me. Right off the bat I felt comfortable with that.”

Filming graphic scenes aside, it seems that Pulsipher has been comfortable with the rigors of acting since, at age 9, she began taking lessons at the Hale Centre Theatre’s workshop.

After graduating from Valley High School in South Jordan, she enrolled in more local acting classes before she was picked for a bit part in the locally produced “Touched by an Angel” drama series.

She left for Los Angeles in 2000 and briefly came back two years later to care for her ailing father (who later died of cancer). Now she’s back in Los Angeles for good, where she’s found some early success as an actor, supporting herself and working consistently.

That includes her first regular stint on a television show, playing a no-nonsense law student on the now-canceled A&E drama “The Beast.” That show’s star, Patrick Swayze, recently died from cancer.

“Even though Patrick was sick, he was so amazing to work with and so positive,” she said. “I feel so lucky and blessed to have known him.”

So far it has been a quick ascent up the Hollywood ladder for an actress who first turned to the craft to help treat her shyness.

“Right now, my opportunities are really great, and I hope ‘True Blood’ makes it more available for me,” she added. “I think this show has an amazing fan base. I’m hoping this will lead to other things.”