Natasha Alam

To die for

In the cold tundra of Uzbekistan, a Central Asian nation known for.. not much really, Natasha Alam was discovered by a model agent while studying at university. She began travelling the world and married the grandson of the shah of Iran, which made her a princess for life despite their subsequent divorce. Now this royal beauty is set to make TV history as the human who wiggles her way into the not-beating heart of vampire leader Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) on True Blood. And after her scintillating debut in the show's third season, we guarantee you'll be watching, rewatching, downloading, and begging for True Blood 3D.

Tell us about your role on the trhird seaon of True Blood.
I'm Yvetta, an Eastern European pole dancer. I audition for Eric's vampire nightclub, Fangtasia, and there's ad immediate attraction between us. So out of all the girls there, I get the job. I basically play his love interest on the show.

How was it?
A lot of fun. I had to take some lessons in pole dancing and do some tricks during the shoot.

Um, tricks? Can you elaborate?
I did some spins and some flip-overs and some sexy stuff.

Did you immediately hit it off with Alexander Skarsgård?
The first time we met, during our very first scene, we were getting at it really heavy. He was saying, like. "It's kind of strange for an introduction, standing here naked and doing it." I was so nervous. I've never done anything nude like that.

How did you handle the nerves?
Well, he just walked in, dropped his robe, no socks, nothing! Usually they hide parts with a special nude underwear thing. I'm like, OK, I guess it's not that scary. It gave me a lot of confidence that he was so cool about it and didn't even bother to wear a robe or anything like that.

Have you been back home to Uzbekistan?
No. I would rather have my family come visit me. I do not want to go back, because what's the point? You go there and you feel miserable and you can't wait to leave.

How did you learn to speak English?
When I was in my early 20s and modelling, I had this weird feeling that everyone thought I was stupid. Because when you don't speak the language, you feel very insecure, and you always think people are talking about you. I decided I would learn, so I bought a bunch of American films with subtitles and some books, and I learned English in a couple of months.

Impressive!
You know, when you have a big desire to do something in life, you can speed things up.