Humans
Sookie StackhousePlayed By: Anna PaquinStatus: Waitress/telepath
Age: 25
Sookie is a telepathic waitress in a small-town restaurant. Because of her ability, she has difficulty forming lasting human relationships. Upon discovering that she can't read Bill's mind, she becomes involved in a love affair that turns the entire town against her. She also finds herself entering into a world of creatures and supernatural conflict that surpasses her worst nightmares.
Tara Thornton
Played By: Rutina WesleyStatus: Bartender
Age: 26
Tara is Sookie Stackhouse's best friend and a bartender at Merlotte's. As a result of being raised in an abusive home, Tara has difficulty trusting others. Her mother, Lettie Mae, is lost in alcoholism. Believing that the source of her addiction is a demon possessing her body, she manages to convince Tara to pay a woman named Miss Jeanette to have the demon exorcised. Though skeptical, after the exorcism her mother appears to be completely healed of her addiction. Her propensity for driving away those that are close to her and the startling results of her mother's procedure leads her to believe that she also is being possessed by a demon, and she returns to Miss Jeanette for her own exorcism. During the ritual, Miss Jeanette feeds Tara a concoction of peyote and ipecac which cause her to hallucinate and believe she's killed the demon after it attempts to take on the shape of Tara as a young girl. Tara finds Miss Jeanette, actually Nancy LeGuare, working as a clerk in a pharmacy. Realizing that the exorcism was a scam, she has a breakdown that concludes with her being arrested for driving under the influence after crashing her car into a tree. Lettie Mae refuses to post Tara's bail and kicks her out of her house, but she's instead taken under the wing of Maryann Forrester (initially introduced as a "social worker"). While under her care, Tara meets "Eggs" Benedict Talley.
Lafayette Reynolds
Played By: Nelsan EllisStatus: Cook, Road crew (Raynard Parish Public Works Department), Drug dealer, Prostitute
Age: 29
Lafayette is Tara Thornton's cousin, a short order cook at Merlotte's, drug dealer, member of Jason's road crew, and gay prostitute. His flamboyant personality leads to numerous confrontations with a trio of homophobic customers at Merlotte's, and spends his time away from the bar partying and creating webcam pornography in his house. He sells vampire blood (a human narcotic known by the street name "V" within the series) to Jason Stackhouse, but refuses to sell him any more after Jason takes too much at once. After Eddie Gauthier (his source for V) goes missing, he is kidnapped by Eric Northman.
Jason Stackhouse
Played By: Ryan KwantenStatus: Road crew supervisor (Raynard Parish Public Works Department)
Age: 28
Jason Stackhouse is Sookie's slow-witted brother and a road crew supervisor, known for bedding the women of Bon Temps. He is the prime suspect in the murders of four women who all have a connection to him: Maudette Pickens, Dawn Green, his grandmother, and Amy Burley. He meets Amy at Fangtasia while attempting to score V, to which he has become addicted. After Amy is killed, he comes to believe that he is responsible for the murders and turns himself in; while in jail, he is recruited by the Fellowship of the Sun, an anti-vampire church.
Arlene Fowler
Played By: Carrie PrestonStatus: Waitress
Age: 35
Arlene Fowler is a waitress working with Sookie. She has been married four times and is the mother of two children. While she has a good heart, she is often apt to resort to bigotry (directed at vampires) and openly disapproves of Sookie's relationship with Bill. She becomes engaged to her boyfriend Rene, but her happiness is short-lived when she discovers that he is the Bon Temps serial killer. When 'Rene' is killed by Sookie, Arlene tells Sookie that she wants her to check inside the head of her next would-be husband.
Terry Bellefleur
Played By: Todd LoweStatus: Cook
Age: 32
Terry Bellefleur, a cousin of Detective Andy Bellefleur, is an Iraq war veteran and works as one of the cooks at Merlotte's. He shows clear signs of posttraumatic stress disorder but, despite his unusual behavior, he is a gentle soul.
Andy Bellefleur
Played By: Chris BauerStatus: Detective
Age: 43
Detective Andy Bellefleur is a police detective in Bon Temps who is regularly disrespected by the town's citizens. He is assigned to investigate the series of murders of four women associated with vampires. Jason Stackhouse is Andy's primary suspect even when evidence doesn't point toward him being responsible. Though he is initially praised for his actions, he begins drinking heavily once the true killer's identity is revealed. During one of his binges at Merlotte's, the body of Miss Jeanette is left in his car in the parking lot; making him a suspect in her death.
Sheriff Bud Dearborne
Played By: William SandersonStatus: Sheriff of Renard Parish
Age: 61
Sheriff Bud Dearborne is the sheriff of Renard Parish and an old friend of Sookie and Jason's deceased parents. While he is well respected in the town of Bon Temps, he goes out of his way to show his distaste for vampires and vocally objects to Sookie's relationship with Bill. He doesn't believe Jason is the murderer of four women associated with vampires. Despite the blatant prejudice he shows to Bill himself, he regularly scolds Andy for being unfair and biased in his dealings with suspects.
Hoyt Fortenberry
Played By: Jim ParrackStatus: Road crew (Raynard Parish Public Works Department)
Age: 28
Hoyt Fortenberry is a friend of Jason and Rene who works on the road crew. Sweet and good-hearted, he is the only person whose thoughts are consistently kind when Sookie eavesdrops and is the first character (excluding Sookie) to first show kindness to Bill when he first arrives (Though he calls him "Vampire Bill"). Unlike Jason, he is extremely shy around women, and takes the prospect of forming a relationship seriously. He is bossed around by his mother, but stands up to her after Jason leaves his comfort zone to be with Amy.
Lettie Mae Thornton
Played By: Adina PorterStatus: Ex-alcoholic/Unemployed
Age: 47
Letty Mae Thornton is Tara's abusive, alcoholic mother. After attacking and driving Tara away in a drunken stupor, she unexpectedly shows up at Adele Stackhouse's funeral and acts unusually composed. She convinces Tara to fund an exorcism to expel a demon that she is convinced is responsible for the terrible things she has done, and chooses to corrupt her because of her closeness with Jesus. While the fake exorcism appears to have the desired effect, it has become clear that she can be just as cruel sober.
Sarah Newlin
Played By: Anna CampStatus: Housewife
Age: 27
Sarah Newlin is the wife of Rev. Steve Newlin. She claims to have originally supported vampire rights, but she changes her mind after her sister disappears; something that she connects to her sister's involvement with vampires.
Steve Newlin
Played By: Michael McMillianStatus: Preacher
Age: 31
Rev. Steve Newlin is the head of the Fellowship of the Sun, an anti-vampire church that Jason joins. His father is killed in the first season, an event he blames on vampires; an accusation that Stan later confirms. He strongly believes that all vampires are evil and should be destroyed.