Stephen Moyer understands the appeal of vampires as there's something "very sexually exciting" about them.
The actor is famed for his role as the blood-sucking Bill Compton on hit HBO series True Blood. Stephen is fascinated by the phenomenon surrounding vampires - and realises that audiences are titillated by sexually-stimulating storylines.
"It's about romance and power and fantasy. Vampires have a sort of brooding presence that goes back to Gothic literature. There's often a dark, enigmatic man involved, such as Mr Rochester or Heathcliff. And a vampire also treats you with old-fashioned manners, while at any point he could overwhelm you and rip your life away," he told Mr Porter.
"There's something very sexually exciting about that. Look at Fifty Shades of Grey."
Stephen has joked that he prepared for his role as a vampire by spending much of the '90s underground. The 42-year-old star has recalled the early days of finding his feet as an actor - before the glitz and glamour.
"Yeah, I lived on a canal boat for seven years - 1992 to 1999," he smiled. "There's a canal that goes through London and the interesting thing is, it was built 200 years ago, so as the roads and everything have built up around it, the canal stays at the same level.
"So canal life is a very underground, subterranean, little nether world," he laughed. "They were pretty wild years - 'Would you like to come and sit on my 62ft purple vessel?'"
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