Eric Northman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eric Northman is a character from the The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by author Charlaine Harris.
In True Blood, an upcoming HBO series based on the books, this character will be played by Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard.[1]
The Southern Vampire Mysteries' main character, telepath waitress Sookie Stackhouse, meets Eric in Dead Until Dark the first novel in the series. He appears in all the subsequent novels and saves Sookie's life on more than one occasion. He also has a brief romance with her in Dead to the World, the fourth book.
Little is known about Eric, except that he is the oldest and most powerful vampire in Area 5, the territory that includes the small town in Northern Luisiana where Sookie lives. The novels hint that he was probably a Viking in his human life. Eric owns a vampire bar called Fangtasia that serves as his headquarters. He runs the bar with the help of his vampire offspring Pam and a few others.
Eric is also the Sherif of Area 5 and the boss of Bill Compton, Sookie's vampire boyfriend from the first novel. By the second novel, Sookie more or less also works for Eric, although reluctantly.
In Dead to the World, Eric loses his memory and is taken in by Sookie. They have a brief affair, which is terminated by Sookie once Eric has regained his memory and returns to the politics of Area 5.
