Whatever happened to Anna Paquin after escaping all of the fangbangers, fairies, and werepanthers
of Bon Temps?
Here's a look at what she's been up to lately.
Small screen complications
After True Blood, Paquin booked a couple of TV guest roles, but it still took a few years
for her to return to the small screen in any regular capacity.
She took the lead in the 2017 Canadian series Bellevue, and while the show was well received
by critics, it was still canceled by CBC after just one season.
Paquin went on to star in Netflix's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel Alias Grace, but
it didn't receive the same fanfare as The Handmaid's Tale, another recent Atwood adaptation.
And since Alias Grace was billed as a limited series, there are few hopes of a second season
renewal.
In other words, while Paquin has continued to pursue work on the medium that made her
a household name, she hasn't yet enjoyed the type of breakout role she had with True Blood.
No healing power
Prior to True Blood, Paquin was perhaps best known for her work as Rogue in the X-Men film
series.
She starred in the original trilogy, and was among the cast members invited to come back
to the rebooted franchise for 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Unfortunately, her scenes were ultimately edited from the film's theatrical version
and only made it to screens by way of an expanded "Rogue Cut" assembled for home video.
Director Bryan Singer cited the film's length and crowded plot as his reasons for cutting
the scenes.
Being axed from a successful blockbuster certainly didn't help to elevate Paquin's profile, even
if some consider "The Rogue Cut" the best version of the film.
Pixar's rare miss
One year after Days of Future Past, Paquin starred as the tough T-rex Ramsey in Pixar's
The Good Dinosaur.
Despite the studio's long-running track record, the film was largely ignored by audiences
and given a comparatively ho-hum reception by critics as well.
"This is my personal bubble"
Paquin was hardly to blame for The Good Dinosaur's bad results, as the film's production was
famously fraught with problems.
Even so, suffering through two major letdowns while working on two large-scale studio films
had to be a bit demoralizing.
Fighting the mamarazzi machine
Another reason Paquin may have taken a step back from the spotlight in recent years is
that she's fiercely protective of her children, twins Charlie and Poppy.
She and her husband, True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer, welcomed the pair to the world in 2013,
and she's made a very concerted effort to guard their privacy.
"I mean they kinda get the concept, cause they'll see pictures of me or their dad, doing,
'daddy?'"
Considering Paquin started working at the age of nine, she's especially familiar with
how unkind the limelight can be for kids.
She told Today in 2018,
"You won't find any pictures of my children.
That's a choice we made very specifically.
I want the right to say that they're not fair game."
Another reason to advocate
In addition to sticking up for her little ones, Paquin has also been very vocal on her
own behalf.
In 2010, she publicly revealed that she's bisexual, appearing in a public service announcement
for the "Give a Damn" campaign alongside other celebrities to promote LGBTQ rights and awareness.
"Because one hate crime is committed approximately every hour of every day in this country."
Soon after, she found the subject coming up repeatedly in interviews, so she felt it was
important to help spread awareness for bisexuality on behalf of an oft-misunderstood community.
She's emerged as a major advocate for equal rights, promoting the NOH8 campaign alongside
her husband, who has openly supported her.
Reteaming with hubby
In 2014, Paquin and Moyer joined forces to start up their own production company, CASM
Films.
They landed in familiar territory almost immediately with a first-look development deal at HBO.
The endeavor might not have resulted in them reuniting for another romp through the mystical
wilderness, but the company has allowed them to explore some other territory.
2018's The Parting Glass was directed by Moyer, while Paquin, who co-produced, starred in
the picture.
It was based on a script from the pair's fellow True Blood alum, Denis O'Hare, who also appears
in the film.
The newest move for Paquin and CASM Films is a British television series called Flack,
which will feature her as an American public relations executive trying to hack it in London.
Like most of her recent TV work, the series is expected to be short, with an initial order
for just six episodes.
Returning to the big time
Although Paquin's been comparatively under the radar lately, that's likely to change
in the very near future.
She stars alongside Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's upcoming gangster drama The Irishman,
a project she's described as being directly in her wheelhouse.
In the film, Paquin portrays Peggy, daughter of Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, the mafioso
who claimed to assassinate Jimmy Hoffa.
The film completed production in March 2018 and is expected to debut on Netflix in 2019.