words by JEROD WILLIAMS
photos by EMILIE ELIZABETH
Alluring, gorgeous, and tantalizing are just a few adjectives that could best describe Mariana Klaveno. This statuesque beauty with a heart of gold hails from Washington State. With a decade of minor roles on television series such as ER, HAWAII FIVE-0 and DEXTER under her belt, it wasn’t until she fell under the radar of Alan Ball and caught, “lightning in a bottle” as she so eloquently puts it, landing the deliciously sinful role of Bill Compton’s maker, Lorena Krasiki in Season 2 of the HBO Series TRUE BLOOD. In addition to TRUE BLOOD, she was also best known as the devious Peri Westmore from the hit series DEVIOUS MAIDS. Bello Mag caught up with the extremely busy actress to discuss life, the evolution of her acting career, playing juicy over-the-top roles, her life on-and-off camera, as well as her upcoming role as Detective Janice Lawrence on the CBS thriller STALKER.
“I was born in a rural eastern town in Washington called Palouse which is considered farmland. My dad is a wheat farmer, so I kind of grew up in the middle of nowhere in a very sort of idyllic and picturesque setting with farm animals running around and acres of land. I’m still really close to a lot of people I grew up with and I love going back home and seeing everything again and smelling the same smells. Palouse was a lovely place to grow up.” When asked about how she “stumbled” into the entertainment industry, she recalled memories of running around outside her property, acting out movies and performing plays with her stuffed animals. All the nerdy and obscure things all budding young starlets do when they become actresses. It wasn’t until this high school valedictorian decided to go to college that she would actualize her vision and go into the drama program. “I kind of quietly nursed the dream of becoming an actress and I said if I still feel encouraged by the end of college, I’ll make the trek to Los Angeles and give it a go. Luckily, my family was incredibly supportive.”
When we talked to her about her breakout role on TRUE BLOOD, she had nothing but humbling things to say about her experience with the hit show. “Working on TRUE BLOOD was a criminal amount of fun. [Laughs.] It was one of those dream jobs that really strikes a chord with audience members. It was massive, funny, sexy, and sort of fresh and edgy. To be a part of that show was such a gift and to live in that kind of fantastical world that Alan [Ball] created, where you get to have these outrageous costumes and stunts and special effects, was something you can only fantasize about being in this business. I loved every minute of playing Lorena. People loved to hate her and I saw her as this tragic figure obsessed with a man who would never love her back.” When bringing up the one infamous head-turning, graphic scene with her and Bill [played by Stephen Moyer], she exclaims how it will go down in infamy forever. “It was certainly shocking. I think they were kind of going for shock value and I think they succeeded.”
Fast forward to Klaveno snagging yet another juicy role of rich, coldhearted, self-absorbed Peri Westmore in the television series DEVIOUS MAIDS. “I actually think that she’s [Peri] more of a villain than Lorena [Laughs]. I loved getting to do a little bit more of a comedy arc with the character of Peri. It was definitely still villainous territory, but the style and the tone of it were obviously much lighter and Marc [Cherry] has such a specific voice and it was fun to kind of hone that skill a bit.” In addition to working with such heavy hitters as Alan Ball and Marc Cherry, she can now add working with the multi-talented, Kevin Williamson (SCREAM and THE FOLLOWING) to her list when the show STALKER premieres on October 1st. “I hope fans are terrified when they watch this show. We play detectives that focus mostly on stalking cases. Kevin is such a genius at creating these tense, unsettling, scary moments. There are a lot of the SCREAM elements to it and you will feel the hairs stand on the back of your neck and jump out of your seat. It’s that kind of element. I get to be a good guy and she’s very sort of brazen, sassy, and self-assured. She basically tells it like it is and there are elements of me in this character which makes it fun. I get to bring a little comedy to a lot of the heavier psychological detective scenes which breaks it up a little bit. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
When Klaveno is not on her daily grind, you will find her doing one of the things that she loves to do and that is baking. “I absolutely love being in the kitchen. I love cooking so I am all over the Food Network and Pinterest. It’s one of my greatest joys to crack open a brand-new cookbook and go through and decide what to make. On STALKER, everyone is so healthy. Maggie Q has one of the cleanest diets of anyone I’ve ever met, so I’m excited to try and venture into gluten-free vegan and exploring healthier options. I also love putting on music and getting lost in my kitchen cooking.” When she’s not baking, she’s also spending quality time with her husband of two and a half years. “I pretty much keep my personal life private and respect him and don’t involve him in goofy social media stuff.”
As for future projects for this up-and-coming starlet, you will be able to catch STALKER on Wednesday nights on CBS starting October 1st. Klaveno recently completed filming a movie called West of Redemption which will be submitted and shopped around to various festivals. The future is looking deliciously bright for this multi-faceted actress.
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photography EMILIE ELIZABETH www.emilieelizabeth.com
styling TARA WILLIAMS www.tarawilliamsstylist.tumblr.com
makeup NICOLE WALMSLEY www.nicolewalmsley.com
hair STEVEN MASON for Exclusive Artists using OSiS+ Dust It