True Blood premiered its seventh and final season this past weekend, but something was different. Viewers may have noticed that Jessica’s beau James looked a little bit different. That is because Luke Grimes was replaced by series newcomer and Originals actors Nathan Parsons. Grimes left the series shortly before filming production began sparking rumors that he left the series because of his character’s gay hookup with Lafayette. Grimes has since denied rumors that he was homophobic, citing that he busy working on Fifty Shades of Grey and American Sniper.
Luke Grimes recently addressed his controversial departure from True Blood. Grimes joined the cast last year but left shortly after being named a Season 7 regular. Following the announcement HBO released a statement to TV Line, claiming:
“The role of James is being recast due to the creative direction of the character.”
An unnamed insider later spoke with the publication about the alleged reasons for his departure:
“He initially joined the show because he wanted to work with [his Forever co-star] Deborah Ann Woll. But when he started reading the scripts for Season 7, he was disappointed to learn that they were going in a completely different direction with James.”
However, Grimes’ publicist, Craig Schneider gave BuzzFeed an alternative explanation for his departure:
“Luke always had an out clause as a means of pursuing other opportunities which arose in the form of features beginning with The Shangri-La Suite, followed by Fifty Shades of Grey, and most recently, Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper with Bradley Cooper.”
Schneider latter added:
“It had nothing to do with storylines, which he had not been privy to at the time of that posting.”
True Blood returns this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on HBO.
What do you think of the recasting? What James actor do you like better? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
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